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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

A business established in the territory of application of Spanish VAT (mainland Spain and Balearic Islands) is obliged to obtain Tax ID -VAT , registering in the ROI (Intra-Community Operators Register), 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 these intra-Community acquisitions are used in the performance of business or professional activities abroad.

  • Operations in which it is the recipient of services provided by employers or professionals not established in the territory of application of VAT with regard to which it is taxable.

  • Provide services that, in accordance with the location rules, are understood to be carried out in the territory of another Member State when the taxpayer is the recipient of the same. If the service provider only provides exempt services in other EM or purchases of exempt services in the peninsula and Balearic Islands, for the services provided or received, you will not be obliged to obtain an intra-community operator number (NIF-VAT) or to inform them of 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".

The inclusion in the Intra-Community Operators Register (ROI) is requested by filling in 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 view 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 this enquiry, you must have an electronic identification certificate or electronic DNI.

In addition to checking the identification number for VAT purposes, if the applicant is identified with their NIF-VAT number, it is possible to use the reply to prove the tax administration of a Member State that has verified a VAT Number on a certain date and that it has 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.