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Identification to do business with other business people within the EU: ROI, VIES, NIF-VAT and NVAT

What you need to operate in the EU

An entrepreneur established in the territory of application of VAT Spanish (peninsula and Balearic Islands) is obliged to obtain NIF -VAT, register in the ROI (Registry of Intra-Community Operators), if you are going to carry out any of the following operations:

  • Intra-EU supply of goods.

  • Intra-Community acquisitions of goods subject to tax , even if the goods subject to such intra-Community acquisitions are used in carrying out business or professional activities abroad.

  • Operations in which is the recipient of services provided by entrepreneurs or professionals not established in the territory of application of VAT with respect to which they are taxable subjects.

  • Providing services which, in accordance with the localization rules, are deemed to be performed in the territory of another Member State when the taxable person is the recipient of the same . If the provider only provides exempt services in other EM or purchases exempt services in the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, for the services provided or received there will be no obligation to obtain an intra-community operator number (NIF -VAT) nor to report them in form 349.

In order to find out whether you are obliged to have a VAT number for the transaction you are going to carry out, you can access the "Service supply locator" and "Supply of goods locator", located within the "Locator", in the "VAT tools".

Inclusion in the Register of Intra-Community Operators (ROI) is requested by completing the census declaration of registration or modification, form 036:

  • Marking box 582 for registration request.

  • Stating the date planned for the first operation in box 584.

If theTax Agency has not replied within three months, the assignment of the requested number will be considered as denied.

If you wish to identify yourself in another Member State , you can consult the procedures for requesting the N-VAT on the European Commission website. To do so, select the document "Vademecum on VAT obligations" and the country in question. The information, available in English only, can be found under "VAT registration of foreign traders" in the "Related content" section of this page.

You can check the validity of the VAT number of a customer or a supplier from a Member State other than Spain in the VIES, in the Highlighted operations of this page.

To access the aforementioned consultation, you must have electronic identification certificate or electronic DNI .

In addition to checking the VAT identification number, if the applicant identifies himself with his VAT NIF, it is possible to use the reply to prove to the tax administration of a Member State that you have verified a VAT Number on a certain date and that you have obtained a certain response.

The exemption of the Intra-EU supply will only apply if the customer has communicated to the supplier a valid VAT number from a Member State other than Spain and the supplier reports the transaction on Form 349. Otherwise, the Intra-EU supply is subject to, and not exempt from, Spanish VAT in the territory where Spanish VAT applies.

If the supplier from another EU country other than Spain applies the exemption system, they will not have a VAT number. This system, which does not exist in Spanish legislation, is characterised by the fact that the businessperson whose sales do not exceed a certain threshold is exempt from VAT, and therefore does not charge VAT on their invoices. The Spanish acquirer does not have to settle the transaction as an Intra-EU acquisition in Spain as it is not subject to Spanish VAT.