Costing & FinanceFree worksheetPDF, Excel, Word exportEuropean Union

EU VAT ID Validation Log Worksheet

When you zero-rate an intra-EU sale you need proof that the customer's VAT number was valid. This worksheet is a simple log that finance can keep and hand to an auditor.

Download:

Customer	Country code	VAT number	Date checked	Result	Consultation number	Zero-rated sales (year)	VAT at risk at 20%
							EUR 36,800
							EUR 19,300
							EUR 12,240
							EUR 7,750
							EUR 4,480

Customers logged

Total zero-rated sales

EUR 402,850

Total VAT at risk (illustrative)

EUR 80,570

Example rows are fictitious. Replace them with your customers. Anything not marked Valid should be reviewed before the next zero-rated shipment. The 20% column is only an illustration of exposure and should be adjusted to the rate that would apply in your own country.

Automate the VAT check log

Optional: a short review of how to write VIES results straight into your customer master.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use the worksheet

Add one row per customer VAT number. Record the date of the VIES check, the result and any consultation number the service returned. Enter the year's zero-rated sales to see how much VAT could be reassessed if a number turns out to have been invalid. Sort or filter to find rows that are not Valid or that are older than your policy limit, and fix them before the next shipment. Export to Excel for the month-end file or to PDF for the audit binder.

Keep one row per VAT number, not per customer account.
Record the check date even for valid numbers.
Highlight anything not marked Valid for follow-up.

Why the log matters

Tax authorities generally accept that you applied the zero rate in good faith if you checked the VAT number, held transport evidence and invoiced correctly. A dated log showing the check result is the easiest way to show the first of those. Without it you may have to rerun checks months later, when the registration may have changed. The exposure column shows the order of magnitude of the issue: a handful of unverified customers can represent a meaningful tax liability if the supplies are reclassified as domestic.

Common mistakes and ERP notes

Mistakes include checking only when the customer is created, recording a pass without the date, failing to repeat checks after a service outage, and mixing up the VAT number format by country. Your ERP may keep a validation flag on the customer record but not the date or consultation number, so a separate log is still useful. Once the process is stable, move the log into the ERP or a small integration that calls VIES on a schedule and writes the result to an audit table.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I check a customer's VAT number?

Check at onboarding and before the first zero-rated supply, and repeat periodically for active accounts, for example quarterly or before each period-end. A registration can lapse, so an old check is weaker evidence.

What if VIES is unavailable?

Record the result as service unavailable, retry later and keep the retry attempts. Do not treat it as invalid, but hold shipments if you cannot obtain a result for a new customer.

Is a consultation number mandatory?

It is not always mandatory but is useful evidence. You receive one when you make an approximate check with your own VAT number as the requester, and it proves when and by whom the check was made.

Does the log replace transport evidence?

No. The VAT number check is one part. You also need proof the goods left your member state and reached the customer's, plus a correct invoice and the reporting forms your country requires.

If the log works but takes too much manual effort, we can help build a scheduled VIES check that writes results into your ERP.

Talk to an Expert Explore More Free Tools

Related Tools

Developer Tools

More Costing & Finance tools

See all

Back to All Tools