VAT Registration is the key element to meet VAT obligations in every Member State of the European Union, nevertheless, the process for completing the registration might differ per country in terms of required information, means of submission. Mastering all these elements is crucial as there is always the risk of your application being rejected. In the recent “Ninth report from the Commission on VAT registration, collection and control procedures following Article 12 of Council Regulation (EEC, EURATOM) No 1553/89” published by the European Commission, which has provided interesting insights on VAT registration, collection, and control procedures throughout the EU.
Importance of VAT Registration in the EU
When businesses, individuals or other entities register for VAT, they are identified in the local database of the Tax Authorities and the accuracy of this data plays an important role for further identification and follow up of the VAT treatment of this new registered unit. As the registering parties are often not established in the country, Tax Authorities consider it critical to carefully evaluate the applicants at the registration stage in order to identify potential fraud cases.
Making the registration of VAT online
The survey dating from 2019 revealed that almost all EU Member States provide the information with regards to the registration process online, for instance via a web page, or mobile applications. This information is not available only in Romania. Possibility for completing the registration online is as well widely available, in 23 Member States in total, 9 of which made it mandatory for the application to be made online.
What is the information required for your VAT registration?
When making your registration application, numerous information may be required by the local Authorities. Nevertheless, the amount of information required is different. As you can see in the graph below, all Member States requires the name of the applicant, their address and activity, however, only half of the countries requires identification of associated entities.
Other information requested can consist of bank account details, expected turnover, identification data of the legal representative(s), data of the company’s employees, etc.
Graphic for the information required for new VAT registration in the EU Member States
Importance of providing accurate information for your VAT registration
It is to be noted that majority of the Member States (19) are keeping the record of the applicants to whom the VAT registration was not granted. Therefore, should your company get rejected once, it would be very difficult to relaunch the registration process, as the Tax Authorities would have the possibility to follow up on existing records.
The information submitted for the VAT registration purposes is ongoingly checked with other country’s registers (etc. registrar of companies) in almost all EU Member States (24 Member States). Therefore, the company seeking the VAT registration should be careful to provide consistent information to different Authorities
Considering the importance of the VAT registration and the specificities of such registration in the different Member States, it is recommended to be assisted by experts who will take care of the process from A to Z. Contact Eurotax team today to get more information about your VAT registrations in the EU. You can also visit our web page for fiscal mandate or representation services to see how we can help you with your VAT registration in Europe.
