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Businesses operating from intra-community trade must adapt their VAT validation processes in the face of recent changes in VIES system and to the new European regulatory requirements. Between technological modernization and strengthening of controls, 2025 marks a turning point in securing intra-Community flows.
The VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) is currently undergoing major transformations to adapt to the realities of digital commerce. These developments are part of the larger framework of ViDA reform (VAT in the Digital Age), definitively adopted by the Council of the EU on 11 March 2025 and published in the Official Journal on 25 March 2025.
La European Commission intensifies its efforts to improve the reliability and speed of VIES validations, while maintaining the responsibility of Member States in managing their national databases.
This decentralized approach remains unchanged: each VIES search queries directly the database of the Member State concerned, without the Commission exercising control over the accuracy of the information.
Practitioners are seeing an increase in incidents affecting the availability of the VIES system. These dysfunctions, linked to the updates of national databases, create operational difficulties for companies that need to validate their business partners in real time.
Les practical consequences are multiple:
In this context of technical instability, the tax administration reinforces its requirements for the preservation of proof of validation. It is becoming essential to:
La ViDA reform introduces structural changes that indirectly affect the VIES system. Starting from July 1, 2030, the obligation of electronic invoicing for intra-community B2B and B2G transactions will be accompanied by a strengthening of automated checks of VAT numbers.
This evolution involves:
The European Union will create a central database allowing operators to find all transactions carried out in connection with their VAT number.
The “ViDA package” provides for the harmonization of national regimes with European standards by January 2035 in terms of billing.
This convergence will also affect VIES validation procedures, with the aim of reducing disparities between Member States concerning:
It should be noted that the current version of VIES will disappear in 2032.
Faced with these developments, companies must adapt their internal procedures :
1. Automation of controls Implement technical solutions to automatically validate VAT numbers when creating new customers or suppliers, with automatic preservation of evidence. The tools of VAT checker make it possible to verify this effectively.
2. Safeguard procedures Develop alternative protocols in case of unavailability of the VIES system, including manual validation with national tax authorities.
3. Regular audit of customer databases Organize quarterly re-validation campaigns for the VAT numbers of regular partners, in accordance with the best practices recommended by the European Commission.
Recent case law experience, in particular The case law of the CAA of Paris of 27 June 2025 (Sté Abo Wind AG)), reiterates the crucial importance of the correct qualification of operations and the application of the appropriate procedure.
Points of vigilance:
2025-2026 : Transition phase with maintenance of current systems in parallel with the new electronic invoicing obligations for large companies (September 2026).
2030 :
2032: End of the current VIES system.
Businesses have an interest in anticipating these developments by:
For complex structures, the establishment of a VAT group can constitute a optimization opportunity of operations management and mainly cash management.
The ongoing changes in the VIES system are part of a global approach to modernization and security intra-community trade. While the transition period may generate operational constraints, it also offers businesses the opportunity to professionalize their VAT validation processes.
The challenge is twofold: to maintain the regulatory compliance while optimizing operational efficiency. Businesses that anticipate these developments and invest in robust VIES management solutions will be better positioned to take advantage of the European single market.
It should also be noted that these developments are part of a wider context of European reporting obligations, in particular with the entry into force of DAC7 that reinforces the fiscal transparency for online operators, DAC8 for operators specialized in the crypto sector or even the device CESOP.
Businesses will also need to be vigilant about the management of their VAT collected and the optimization of their VAT credit in this new regulatory context: the authorities will have easy access to data and will now be able to cross-check international transactions with each operator even before the tax audit.
La increasing complexity of these mechanisms makes it more necessary than ever to provide specialized support to secure intra-Community transactions and avoid procedural pitfalls that can, as illustrated by recent case law, lead to the loss of substantial rights.
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