VAT Validation

VATextract automatically validates supplier VAT numbers against official EU VIES and UK HMRC databases.

How It Works

Extraction

When an invoice is processed, the supplier’s VAT/Tax ID is extracted.

Validation

The VAT number is checked against the appropriate government database (EU VIES or UK HMRC).

Matching

The registered company name and address are compared with the invoice data.

Validation Statuses

Status	Description
`VALID`	VAT number is registered and active
`INVALID`	VAT number not found or inactive
`PENDING`	Validation in progress
`NOT_FOUND`	No VAT number detected on invoice
`ERROR`	Validation service temporarily unavailable

Match Quality

Beyond validating the VAT number, VATextract compares the registered company details with the invoice:

Quality	Description
`EXACT`	Company name matches the VAT registry exactly
`CLOSE`	Minor differences (e.g., “Ltd” vs “Limited”)
`NO_MATCH`	Significant discrepancy—may indicate fraud

A NO_MATCH result doesn’t necessarily indicate fraud. Company names on invoices often differ from official registry entries. Always review manually before rejecting.

Supported Countries

European Union (VIES)

All 27 EU member states including:

Germany (DE), France (FR), Netherlands (NL)
Spain (ES), Italy (IT), Poland (PL)
And all other EU countries

United Kingdom (HMRC)

UK VAT numbers (GB prefix)

VAT validation happens asynchronously. Results typically arrive within 1-5 seconds of invoice processing.

Validation Response Data

Each validated VAT number includes:

{
  "vatValidationStatus": "VALID",
  "vatMatchQuality": "EXACT",
  "vatValidatedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "vatValidationData": {
    "vat_number": "DE123456789",
    "country_code": "DE",
    "company_name": "Example GmbH",
    "company_address": "Musterstraße 1, 10115 Berlin"
  }
}

Best Practices

Review Mismatches

Investigate NO_MATCH results before processing payments

Revalidate Periodically

VAT registrations can change—revalidate suppliers annually

Getting Started

Features

Integrations

How It Works

Validation Statuses

Match Quality

Supported Countries

European Union (VIES)

United Kingdom (HMRC)

Validation Response Data

Best Practices

Review Mismatches

Revalidate Periodically

​How It Works

​Validation Statuses

​Match Quality

​Supported Countries

​European Union (VIES)

​United Kingdom (HMRC)

​Validation Response Data

​Best Practices

Review Mismatches

Revalidate Periodically

How It Works

Validation Statuses

Match Quality

Supported Countries

European Union (VIES)

United Kingdom (HMRC)

Validation Response Data

Best Practices