From 20 July 2025 onwards, requests for confirmation of a foreign VAT IDN must be made exclusively electronically via the online query provided by the BZSt. Written or telephone inquiries for the validation of foreign VAT IDNs will therefore no longer be accepted in future. In addition, from 20 July 2025 onwards, a separate German VAT IDN will be required in order to have a foreign VAT IDN validated. Simply being registered for VAT purposes in Germany without having a German VAT IDN will no longer be sufficient.
The (foreign) VAT IDN is important because it confirms the customer's status as an entrepreneur. This is mandatory from the perspective of the German tax authorities. In addition, the submission of a (correct) EC sales list and the use of a valid (!) foreign VAT IDN in this report is one of the material requirements for the zero-rating of the intra-Community supply. The entrepreneur must prove that the requirements for zero-rating are met. Therefore, (qualified) confirmation of the foreign VAT IDN is of fundamental importance in practice. The relevant accounting and documentary evidence must be kept and made available for inspection by the German tax authorities.
Consequences
Entrepreneurs involved in intra-Community trade should review their internal processes and storage methods to ensure that VAT IDNs are validated exclusively via the prescribed electronic procedure and archived in such a way that nothing stands in the way of zero-rating of the intra-Community supply.