An EU supplier rejects your Irish company's VAT number, even though you have Revenue correspondence confirming a registration. Your order is waiting and the supplier asks you to fix VIES. Before submitting another application, establish which number was checked, which registration you actually hold and what the response says.
This guide helps directors and new-company owners prepare a useful investigation, not bypass a supplier's controls. It addresses a failed validation rather than the general question of whether to register. Official sources were checked on 21 October 2026. Transaction treatment, effective dates and disputed invoices require advice on the actual facts.
Start with the actual response, not the supplier's summary
The European Commission describes VIES as a search engine drawing on national VAT records, not an independent registration database. An invalid result can reflect a nonexistent number, absent intra-EU activation or an unfinished registration. Updates may not appear immediately; unavailable data is a different problem.
Ask for the exact response, date and entered details. A supplier saying 'invalid VAT' may be describing its own checkout rejection rather than an official VIES result. Save the original evidence before changing anything. Do not convert an ambiguous error into a statement that the business is fraudulent or has ceased trading.
| What happened | Next check |
|---|---|
| Official invalid result | Number and approved intra-EU status |
| Data unavailable | Retry later; preserve the error |
| Domestic record confirmed | Check intra-EU approval separately |
| VIES valid, supplier rejects | Supplier's entity and form details |
| Application still pending | Outstanding evidence and decision |
| Earlier invoices affected | Transaction-specific accounting review |
Check the legal entity and entered number first
Compare the number with the company's actual Revenue record, not an old quotation, copied website field or founder's personal paperwork. Check which legal entity is buying or selling. A previous sole trader, another group company and the new LTD are not interchangeable identities merely because the same person operates them.
Revenue's VIES manual identifies IE as the Irish country prefix. Follow the checker's separate country and number fields carefully rather than accidentally duplicating the prefix. Do not create a VAT identifier by adding IE to the CRO number, guessing a suffix or removing characters until a form accepts it.
Keep a controlled note of the exact submission and the original issued reference. If a typo is found, correct the input and record the fresh result. Do not edit the saved evidence of the earlier check. That distinction helps an adviser reconstruct whether the problem was data entry, registration or a supplier's separate process.
Domestic-only VAT and intra-EU status are different
Revenue's two-tier system distinguishes Domestic-only from Intra-EU registration. Approved Intra-EU registration is automatically entered on VIES. A Domestic-only customer can apply for Intra-EU status when the intended activity requires it; domestic approval is not proof that this additional status has been granted.
Read the registration advice and subsequent correspondence rather than relying on a remembered application choice. Ask the person who submitted it to confirm the requested tier, decision and effective date. Keep a pending request separate from an approval. If circumstances have changed since the original application, explain the new trading plans accurately.
For an existing domestic registration, the useful question is whether a status change is needed and how to apply correctly. Do not cancel the company's registration or launch duplicate applications simply to obtain a number that passes a supplier screen. Discuss the current record first.
Use the right check for an Irish domestic VAT number
Revenue's VAT-registration manual, section 9, describes a separate domestic-number verification tool in ROS under Other Services and in myAccount under Manage My Records. That is a domestic check, not evidence of intra-EU approval. Record which tool produced which result instead of treating the two outputs as contradictory answers to an identical question.
If you do not have the appropriate access, ask your authorised adviser to explain how the current status can be confirmed. Never send a ROS certificate, password or personal identifier to a supplier to prove that you checked it. Supply relevant status evidence through an agreed channel, with unrelated information removed where appropriate.
A domestic confirmation may explain the apparent mismatch, but it does not require an overseas supplier to apply a particular tax treatment. Ask the adviser to identify what additional confirmation is needed for the actual transaction and what can truthfully be communicated while the issue is open.
Prepare evidence if intra-EU registration is needed
Revenue asks intra-EU applicants for additional trading information, including customer type, supplier due diligence, transport arrangements, turnover and evidence of trade or substantive intention to trade. Its examples include invoices, contracts, leases and detailed business plans. Match the evidence to the real activity rather than assembling an impressive but irrelevant folder.
A useful preparation note should explain what the company sells or buys, with whom, from where and when activity starts. Label draft contracts and forecasts as drafts and forecasts. If no transaction has occurred, describe the genuine commercial steps already taken rather than presenting a prospective order as completed trade.
Check the submission route with the adviser. Revenue's registration manual lists exceptions to online eRegistration, including companies with no Irish-resident directors. That does not mean every foreign-owned company follows the same route. Explain the company's actual director and residence position instead of selecting a process solely from the shareholder's passport.
Send a focused enquiry through the proper Revenue channel
MyEnquiries allows secure correspondence with Revenue and tracking of its progress. Business customers access it through ROS; agents use their appropriate agent access. For operational VIES queries, Revenue's current VIES manual identifies the VIES, INTRASTAT and Mutual Assistance category. A registration application and an operational validation query are not necessarily the same request.
Set out the legal entity, relevant reference, exact failed check, date and known approval history. Ask what is missing or needs correction, rather than only asking Revenue to 'fix the number'. State any live commercial deadline without implying it guarantees priority or a particular outcome.
A useful question might be: 'Our records show the attached registration advice. This is the result returned when the company's number was checked. Please confirm the relevant status and whether further information or a different registration step is required.' Adapt that factual summary to your own case; it is not a prescribed application or appeal template.
If VIES is valid but a supplier still rejects the number
Treat this as a separate investigation. Preserve the official result and ask the supplier which validation rule failed: number entry, legal-name matching, account country, billing entity or its own review. Do not assume you need a new Revenue application merely because one private platform rejects a field.
Send only the relevant evidence requested through a verified support route. Ask whether the supplier can review its stored details and explain the next step. A number that checks successfully does not guarantee account acceptance, credit terms or a refund under that supplier's process.
Avoid workaround identities. Do not substitute a director's number, another company or an old sole-trader registration. The aim is to reconcile the correct company's record, not make a form turn green. Keep a named person responsible for the supplier follow-up so conflicting messages are not sent by different team members.
A valid check does not decide every invoice's VAT treatment
For an Irish supplier zero-rating an intra-Community supply of goods, Revenue also requires the customer's registration in another Member State, the relevant numbers on the invoice, movement of goods to another Member State and correct VIES returns. A valid-number screenshot alone does not establish all those conditions.
Services have their own place-of-supply and customer-status rules. Revenue's guidance addresses validation, invoice records, reverse-charge wording and taxable supplies reported on VIES. It also describes evidence for a new business awaiting a number. Do not apply a goods checklist mechanically to every service contract.
If earlier invoices were issued or VAT charged while a status question was unresolved, ask the accountant to review those transactions and the effective dates. Revenue's goods guidance allows an adjustment where zero-rating conditions are subsequently established, but that is not a blanket refund promise for every platform fee or purchase. Keep the original invoice and any properly authorised correction together.
Example: the same supplier message, two different causes
Imagine a fictional Irish LTD buying equipment from an EU supplier. The supplier reports a failed number check. The director compares the typed number with the issued record and finds that a final character was omitted. The next action is a corrected check and documented supplier follow-up, not a second incorporation or an invented tax identifier.
Now imagine the input was correct, but the company's advice confirms Domestic-only status and no intra-EU decision has been made. Repeatedly refreshing the same supplier form does not resolve that different issue. The director gathers the trading facts and asks an adviser to assess the appropriate status and application route.
Neither example dictates what tax must appear on a particular invoice. Keep that assessment separate, especially where the transaction has already occurred. A short issue log with evidence, owner and next action is more useful than forwarding the same unexplained error between the supplier and adviser.
After resolution, check reporting as well as validation
Running a VIES number check is not filing a VIES statement. Revenue's VIES manual distinguishes the statements from VAT3 returns and explains reporting for relevant intra-EU supplies. Clarify which returns apply, who prepares them and the applicable filing frequency; do not assume the person who arranged registration also handles continuing compliance.
Close the issue log with the confirmation received and any remaining accounting work. Retain earlier correspondence instead of keeping only the final successful check. Set up a handover so future staff know where the evidence is stored and who should be contacted when a new validation or invoice issue arises.
Arrange support for the actual problem, not another formation
StartCompany.ie's tax-services page covers VAT registration, returns, reverse-charge advice and Revenue correspondence handling through the relevant professional support. Ask whether the team and authorised partners can review your specific validation issue, status-change request and affected transactions. Do not assume a review, an appeal or historic invoice corrections are included automatically.
Confirm availability, deliverables, responsibility for Revenue replies and the total payable before ordering. Existing-number troubleshooting is different from a first registration application, and neither is a new company incorporation. No provider can turn a payment receipt into Revenue approval or guarantee a supplier's acceptance.
- Confirm the legal entity and exact issued number without circulating personal credentials.
- Save the official response, entered details and date; distinguish invalid from unavailable.
- Collect registration advice, effective dates, pending references and unanswered requests.
- Explain the intended or completed transactions, counterparties and relevant countries.
- Identify affected invoices and ask for a separate accounting review where needed.
- Agree who handles the enquiry, supplier response, evidence storage and ongoing returns.
Use the official VIES resources
Useful marketplace links
- Open the European Commission VIES checker
Check intra-EU VAT information using the official tool. Follow its current country and number-field instructions.
StartCompany.ie service
Tax Services in Ireland
Official information and next steps
Official sources checked on 21 October 2026, including Revenue's May 2026 VAT-registration manual and November 2025 VIES manual. The examples and preparation checklist are illustrative, not individual tax advice, a formal application or a promised resolution timetable.
- European Commission: VIES validation and errors
- Revenue: Two-Tier VAT registration
- Revenue: Guidelines for VAT Registration, Part 38-01-03b
- Revenue: current VIES Traders Manual
- Revenue: MyEnquiries access and tracking
- Revenue: zero-rating intra-Community goods
- Revenue: supplying services to customers abroad