EM3058 - Examining Accounts: False Invoices

Even if there is a VAT registration number on an invoice it may be a false number. All United Kingdom (UK) VAT registration numbers have nine digits. You can check a VAT registration number as follows:

• The most reliable method of checking the validity of a UK VAT registration number is to use the UK VAT number checker.
• You can also use the VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) to verify whether:

• a business is VAT registered in an EU member state
• a UK VAT registered business is trading under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol

You should bear in mind however that the databases may not yet include new VAT registrations if they have only been registered within 48 hours.

You can also use SEES to check a VAT number, although this is the least reliable method. You can find this in SEES / Business Analysis / VAT No Checker. This relies on the fact that for UK VAT registration numbers, the last two numbers are calculated by applying a standard formula to the other seven numbers. This checker can only confirm whether a VAT registration number complies with the required format. It cannot check whether the number is a current valid registration number, or whether it belongs to the person who is using it. (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

If after following these checks you have any further doubts about the validity of a VAT registration number you should contact VAT colleagues to check whether the trader has been registered under the number shown on the invoice.