Numbers in a legal notice
The VAT identification number (in German USt-IdNr., internationally VAT ID) identifies businesses in intra-Community EU trade vis-à-vis the tax authorities. In Germany it begins with “DE” followed by nine digits, in Austria with “ATU” followed by eight digits. It should not be confused with the plain tax number used nationally for general taxation.
In a legal notice you quickly encounter three different numbers that are often mixed up. The tax number is issued by the tax office for ongoing taxation and is not a mandatory item in a legal notice. The commercial register number (for example HRB 123456) evidences the company’s entry in the register. The VAT ID is intended solely for cross-border trade. Only the latter two can be checked publicly. That makes them suitable for a plausibility check.
The VAT ID and the commercial register number are often equated, but they say different things: the register number evidences legal existence and names the seat and the authorised representatives; the VAT ID only evidences registration for VAT purposes. A shop can hold a valid VAT ID and still appear in no commercial register, as a sole trader, for instance. That is lawful, but it makes the register comparison necessary as a second check.
Checks via VIES and UID register
For Germany and Austria, a VAT ID can be checked for formal validity via the EU Commission’s VIES system (whether the number is currently assigned to a business). Switzerland is not an EU member; Swiss businesses instead receive a UID (company identification number, format “CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx”). It is checked via the Swiss UID register, and VIES does not cover it.
This is how the query works: on the EU Commission’s VIES page you select the country and enter the number without the leading country code. Spaces, dots or hyphens that some shops insert for looks are left out. The result only states whether the number is valid at the moment of the query. It is not a certificate and not an assessment of the company.
What a VIES query returns differs by country. Some member states also disclose the name and address of the business behind a valid number, others, including Germany, report only “valid” or “invalid”. A German VAT ID therefore cannot readily be matched to a company name. Anyone wanting to check whether the number belongs to the shop should combine the query with the register entry and the address from the legal notice.
In Switzerland the UID plays this role. It can be researched via the public register and, unlike the German VIES response, usually returns the company name as well. For shops with a Swiss legal notice the UID is therefore the more informative check, provided the company purpose stated in the register fits the products being sold.
Patterns at fake shops
Two typical patterns with fake shops: first, freely invented numbers in the correct format, for example a neat run of digits that VIES reports as invalid. Second, considerably more common and harder to spot, a genuine, copied VAT ID belonging to an existing company. The check then reports “valid”, even though the number belongs to a bakery in a different town. That only becomes apparent when the associated company has nothing to do with the shop’s product range.
Contradictions between the statements are what carry weight. An example: the legal notice names a GmbH based in Hamburg, the VAT ID begins with a different country code, and the bank details given during checkout are in a third country. Each of these could be explained on its own. Together they hardly fit a regularly operated business.
What the number proves
A missing VAT ID is not a warning sign. Small businesses under § 19 of the German VAT Act and purely domestic merchants do not need one, and many never apply for it. A small workshop-style shop without a VAT ID in its legal notice is unremarkable, as long as name, address and a means of contact are complete.
Use the VAT ID as a counter-check. It is not a clearance. A “valid” rules out the invented number. Everything beyond that is decided by comparison with the register entry, the address and the payment methods and, when in doubt, by choosing a payment method that lets you get your money back.
A valid VAT ID therefore proves no legitimacy on its own. It confirms a tax registration and says nothing about the seller’s intentions. It is one building block alongside the legal notice, the register entry, payment methods and domain age. When several of these blocks fit together, a coherent picture emerges. When several contradict each other, a red flag becomes a well-founded suspicion.