VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the EU-wide VAT ID portal where you can validate customer and vendor Tax IDs (also known as TINs or VAT IDs). In the many years since its introduction, the VIES system has helped simplify reporting obligations for intra-community transactions and has been a critical component in the fight against cross-border VAT fraud.
Nevertheless, this invaluable portal has its limitations.
One limitation you’ve no doubt encountered is the multiple times each month when VIES is experiencing ‘downtime’, perhaps due to high usage or maintenance. This primarily occurs during VAT filing periods and year-end closes when companies typically run large batches of VAT IDs to be checked through VIES.
Source: Fonoa
