Sales tax identification number (SAP Business One)

A number assigned to a company that is used when reporting foreign trade activities to customs authorities. The name and length of the VAT number vary depending on the country and language. A European VAT number consists of a country and 8 to 12 other digits, depending on the country. In SAP Business One it can be entered in the object Business partner be recorded.

1. use of the UID number

Intra-Community supplies: It is required when goods or services are exchanged between companies in different EU countries.
Proof of entrepreneurial status: The VAT number confirms the company's status as a taxable business partner.
Invoicing: The VAT number must be stated on invoices for intra-Community deliveries.

2. format of the UID number

The UID number begins with a Country code (e.g. ?DE? for Germany, ?ATU? for Austria) followed by a Number sequence.
the Number of digits varies from country to country.
In SAP Business One the system checks the country-specific structure during input.

3. validity of the VAT number

the The buyer's VAT number must be valid be necessary for an intra-Community delivery can be made tax-free.
There is a EU-wide online confirmation procedure to verify the correctness of VAT numbers (e.g. via the MIAS system).
SAP Business One only checks the Formatnot the content validity of the VAT number.

4. maintenance of the UID number in SAP Business One

the own UID number can be found in the Company data of the company.
For business partners (customers and suppliers), the VAT number is entered in the base data maintained:
- Field UID number in the business partner master data
- It can up to three UID numbers per business partner.
- The system checks whether the number of digits corresponds to the standard of the respective country.

5. effects on invoicing

With intra-Community supplies the invoice must include both the own UID number as well as the VAT number of the customer must be specified.
The invoice must also include a reference to the Tax exemption of the delivery stand.

6 Tax relevance

The UID number is a central element for the correct Tax treatment of intra-Community supplies and the Correct recording of the value added tax.

7. third countries and additional tax number

Third countries: It can also be important for customers outside the EU to provide a VAT number in order to process cross-border business transactions correctly.
Additional tax number: SAP Business One offers an additional field for further tax numbers, which can be used for identification in a group of companies, for example.