B2B VAT Compliance: selling VAT-free in Europe is legal. Until the tax office knocks.
If you sell to European companies without charging VAT, you are responsible for proving the buyer's VAT number was valid at the time of each transaction. If you cannot, you pay the full VAT. Plus interest. Plus penalties.
Protect your business →What most companies don't know (until it's too late)
Every day, thousands of European B2B companies sell VAT-free to clients with intra-community VAT numbers. It's legal and standard practice. But the system has a trap that can cost hundreds of thousands of euros.
Your client had a valid VAT number when they bought. Today they don't.
A client loses their VAT number due to unpaid taxes, cessation of activity or irregularity. You sold to them without VAT months ago. The destination country's tax authority reclaims the full VAT on all those transactions. And your own tax authority asks why you didn't charge it.
In an audit, they need proof. And you don't have it.
Your ERP checked the VAT when you first onboarded the client. But it didn't save a dated certificate and never checked again. During an audit, you cannot prove the VAT was valid on the date of EACH invoice. No proof = no exemption = you pay.
The VAT was valid, but the tax authority reclaims anyway.
Real cases: a European tax authority detects irregularities in a company and reclaims VAT from all its suppliers. Even though the VAT was valid when you sold, you must prove good faith with formal documentation. Without it, the burden of proof is on you.
A single reclamation can exceed €100,000.
Imagine you sell €500,000 annually to a European client without VAT. If the tax authority denies the exemption, they reclaim 21%: €105,000. Plus late interest. Plus penalties that can reach double the amount. And that's for just one client.
The EU is aggressively tightening controls
Intra-community VAT fraud costs Europe €90 billion per year. The EU's response is clear: more control, more digitisation and more responsibility for businesses.
2,666 active investigations
The European Public Prosecutor's Office had 2,666 open fraud investigations by end of 2024. More than half for VAT fraud.
Operación Admiral: €2.900M
The largest EU VAT carousel fraud investigation. Over 400 companies in 16 countries. Many didn't know they were involved.
Italy: 47 arrests, €520M
In November 2024, Italian authorities dismantled a VAT fraud network linked to organised crime.
ViDA: e-invoicing 2030
The VAT in the Digital Age initiative will mandate digital reporting of all intra-community B2B transactions.
We verify, monitor, alert and certify. Automatically.
Checking the VAT once is not enough. You need proof it was valid on the date of each invoice. That is exactly what we do.
Automatic verification
Every time you transact with a European client, we verify their VAT and generate a digital certificate with legal validity. Irrefutable proof for any audit.
Continuous monitoring
We don't wait for you to ask. We periodically monitor the VAT status of all your European clients. If something changes, we know before you do.
Immediate alerts
If a client loses their VAT, changes status or shows irregularities, you receive an immediate alert. You can block the exemption before it becomes a problem.
Legally valid certificates
Each verification generates a digital certificate that proves the VAT status at that moment. It is the document you need if the tax authority asks for proof. Available whenever you need it.
Linked to each invoice
Each certificate is linked to its corresponding transaction. When facing a reclamation, you can prove the VAT was valid on the exact date you invoiced. Not from a year ago: from the day of that invoice.
You can contract VAT Compliance alone
If you already have your own financing and just need to control the VAT of your European clients, this module works independently. API integration or direct dashboard access.
About VAT Compliance
Selling to European companies VAT-free?
Protect your business with continuous monitoring and automated certificates. Don't wait for the tax authority to call.
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