# EU VAT Number Validation: Bulk VIES Check & Supplier Monitor (`fayoussef/eu-vat-compliance-monitor`) Actor

Validate a whole supplier or customer list against VIES, get the consultation number that proves you checked, and be told the moment a VAT number goes invalid or its registered name changes. Knows the difference between an invalid number and a member state that is simply down.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/fayoussef/eu-vat-compliance-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Youssef Farhan](https://apify.com/fayoussef) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.80 / 1,000 vat number checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## EU VAT Number Validation: Bulk VIES Check & Supplier Monitor

Bulk EU VAT number validation against the official VIES service, with the consultation number that proves you checked, and a memory between runs so you are told the moment a supplier's VAT registration goes invalid or its registered name changes.

Paste a supplier or customer list, get a verdict for every line. Put it on a monthly schedule and it becomes a monitor: from the second run on, it can return **only what changed**.

### The distinction this Actor is built around

VIES answers `isValid: false` for two completely different things:

1. the VAT number is genuinely not registered, and
2. the member state's own system did not answer, because it was down, timed out, or refused a concurrent request.

The second case is common. A live sweep of ten member states while building this Actor hit `MS_MAX_CONCURRENT_REQ` on France on the first attempt. Anything that reads that `false` at face value tells your finance team that a perfectly good customer's VAT number has gone bad, and your finance team acts on it: they stop zero-rating the invoice, or they freeze the account.

So every check here has **three** outcomes, never two:

| Verdict | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `valid` | The member state confirmed the number |
| `invalid` | The member state answered, and this number is not registered |
| `unavailable` | The member state did not answer. The number was **not** re-checked, and the previous verdict is left untouched |

An `unavailable` result is retried with backoff before it is reported, and it never counts as a change.

### Proof that you checked

Supply your own EU VAT number in `requesterVatNumber` and VIES issues a **consultation number** with every check, for example `WAPIAAAAaDAGUrNE`. That reference, with the date, is the evidence a tax authority accepts that you validated the counterparty before zero-rating the invoice. It is stored on every row.

Leave it empty and you still get the verdict, just no reference number to cite.

### What you get back

| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| `fullVatNumber` | Normalised, for example `DE811569869` |
| `validationState` | `valid`, `invalid`, `unavailable`, `out_of_scope` or `not_checked` |
| `registeredName` / `registeredAddress` | As held by the member state, where it discloses them |
| `nameMatch` / `nameMatchScore` | `match`, `mismatch` or `not_disclosed`, against the name you have on file |
| `consultationNumber` | The VIES reference proving the check |
| `checkedAt` | The timestamp VIES returned |
| `viesResponse` | The raw VIES code, for your audit trail |
| `alerts` | Plain-English reasons this line needs attention |
| `_change` | `baseline`, `new`, `changed`, `unchanged` or `not_rechecked` |

### Coverage

All 27 EU member states, plus **XI** for Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

Great Britain left VIES with Brexit and is deliberately **not** covered. A `GB` number comes back as `out_of_scope` with an explanation, rather than being quietly reported as invalid, which is what a GB number looks like to anything that just forwards the VIES answer.

### How to write your list

One VAT number per line, country code first. Add the name you have on file after a pipe to have it checked too:

```
IE6388047V | Google Ireland Limited
DE811569869 | Zalando SE
IT00488410010 | TIM S.p.A.
ES A28017895 | Telefonica
EL094019245
```

Spaces, dots and dashes are stripped, so you can paste straight out of an ERP export. `GR` is accepted as a synonym for `EL`.

### Input

| Field | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| `vatNumbers` | array | The numbers to check, one per line |
| `requesterVatNumber` | string | Your own EU VAT number, which unlocks consultation numbers |
| `nameMatchThreshold` | integer | How much of your name must appear in the registered name, as a percentage. Default 60 |
| `alertsOnly` | boolean | Return only the lines that need attention |
| `onlyChangesSinceLastRun` | boolean | Return only what moved. This is what makes it a monitor |
| `trackChanges` | boolean | Keep a baseline between runs. On by default |
| `watchlistName` | string | One history per list, so "suppliers" and "customers" stay separate |
| `maxVatNumbers` | integer | Safety cap per run |
| Alerts | strings | Slack, Discord, Telegram or a webhook, all optional |

#### Example input

```json
{
    "vatNumbers": [
        "IE6388047V | Google Ireland Limited",
        "DE811569869 | Zalando SE",
        "IT00488410010 | TIM S.p.A."
    ],
    "requesterVatNumber": "EL094019245",
    "onlyChangesSinceLastRun": true,
    "alertsOnly": true,
    "watchlistName": "suppliers"
}
```

#### Example output

```json
{
    "fullVatNumber": "IE6388047V",
    "validationState": "valid",
    "isValid": true,
    "registeredName": "GOOGLE IRELAND LIMITED",
    "registeredAddress": "3RD FLOOR, GORDON HOUSE, BARROW STREET, DUBLIN 4",
    "expectedName": "Google Ireland Limited",
    "nameMatch": "match",
    "nameMatchScore": 1.0,
    "consultationNumber": "WAPIAAAAaDAGUrNE",
    "checkedAt": "2026-09-20T18:34:38.254Z",
    "viesResponse": "VALID",
    "alerts": [],
    "_change": "unchanged"
}
```

### Common questions

**How do I validate EU VAT numbers in bulk?**
Paste the list into `vatNumbers` and run. One run handles hundreds of numbers across every member state.

**How do I prove to an auditor that I checked a VAT number?**
Fill in `requesterVatNumber` with your own EU VAT number. Every row then carries a VIES consultation number and the timestamp of the check.

**Why does the same number say valid one month and unavailable the next?**
Because a member state's register was unreachable at that moment. That is reported as `unavailable`, not as invalid, and your stored verdict from the last good run is left alone.

**Why is there no registered name for my German supplier?**
Several member states, Germany among them, confirm a number without disclosing the name. Those rows read `not_disclosed`, which is not a mismatch.

**Can it check UK VAT numbers?**
Northern Ireland (`XI`) yes, Great Britain (`GB`) no. GB left VIES with Brexit and needs HMRC instead.

**Does it handle names in Greek or Cyrillic?**
Validity, yes, always. Name matching compares names in the script they are written in, so a supplier registered in Greek is best left without a name on file rather than matched against a Latin one.

**Is an API key needed?**
No. VIES is a free public service of the European Commission.

### Pricing

This Actor is billed per event, plus whatever your Apify plan covers. The events are:

| Event | What triggers it |
|---|---|
| Actor start | Each run starts |
| VAT number checked | Each number VIES returned a real verdict for |
| Notification sent | Each Slack, Discord, Telegram or webhook delivery |

Two things you are deliberately **not** charged for:

- **An `unavailable` result is free.** If the member state's register did not
  answer, you have no verdict, so you are not billed for it. You never pay for
  VIES being down.
- **Alerts are free.** An invalid number is one you already paid to check, so it
  is not billed twice.

The current rates are shown on this Actor's Store page. Free-plan runs are capped at a small list so you can see the output shape before subscribing; an [Apify plan](https://apify.com/pricing?fpr=youssef) lifts the cap.

### Limits worth knowing

- VIES is a shared public service and rate-limits concurrent requests, so a long list is worked through steadily rather than all at once.
- VIES answers for the member state's register as it stands right now. It has no history, so this Actor builds the history itself by remembering each run.
- Some member states support an official trader-name match. Where they return one it is included; where they do not, the name comparison here is used instead.
- A duplicated VAT number in the list is checked twice and the last row wins for change tracking.

### Need something else?

National company registry enrichment, a different export shape, or this wired into your ERP: youssefarhan24@gmail.com

# Actor input Schema

## `vatNumbers` (type: `array`):

One per line, with the country code in front: DE811569869. Add the name you have on file after a pipe to be told when the registered name no longer matches: DE811569869 | Acme Widgets GmbH. Spaces, dots and dashes are ignored, so you can paste straight from an ERP export. GR is accepted as a synonym for EL. Names are compared in the script they are written in, so a supplier registered in Greek or Bulgarian is best left without a name on file.

## `requesterVatNumber` (type: `string`):

Optional but strongly recommended. Supply your own EU VAT number and VIES returns a consultation number for every check, which is the reference a tax authority accepts as evidence that you validated the counterparty on that date. Leave it empty and you still get the verdict, just no reference number to cite.

## `nameMatchThreshold` (type: `integer`):

How much of your own name for a company has to appear in the registered name before it counts as the same company, as a percentage. Legal forms such as GmbH, SARL and Ltd are ignored on both sides, so 60 is a sensible default. Some member states, Germany among them, confirm a number without disclosing any name: those are reported as "not disclosed" rather than as a mismatch.

## `alertsOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Leave this off to get every number back with its verdict, which is what an audit file needs. Turn it on to get only the invalid, mismatched and unchecked ones, which is what a monthly review needs.

## `onlyChangesSinceLastRun` (type: `boolean`):

The point of running this on a schedule. A quiet month then produces an empty dataset instead of the same list again. The first run always returns everything, because nothing has changed yet.

## `trackChanges` (type: `boolean`):

Keeps a small fingerprint of each number's verdict and registered name so the next run can tell you which supplier went bad. Turn it off for a one-off check that should leave nothing behind.

## `watchlistName` (type: `string`):

The name of the history this run compares against. Use a different name per list, for example "suppliers" and "customers", and each keeps its own baseline. Changing this name starts a fresh history, so the next run reports everything as new.

## `maxVatNumbers` (type: `integer`):

A safety cap on how much of the list one run will check. Lines beyond it are skipped and the run says so.

## `slackWebhookUrl` (type: `string`):

Optional. Post the numbers that need attention to a Slack channel. Nothing is sent when nothing needs attention, so a quiet channel means a clean supplier list.

## `discordWebhookUrl` (type: `string`):

Optional. Post the same digest to a Discord channel.

## `telegramChatId` (type: `string`):

Optional. The chat to send the digest to. Fill this in together with the bot token below.

## `telegramBotToken` (type: `string`):

Optional. Your own bot's token, used only to deliver the digest to the chat above.

## `webhookUrl` (type: `string`):

Optional. Receive the alerts as JSON, for Zapier, Make, n8n or your own endpoint.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "vatNumbers": [
    "IE6388047V | Google Ireland Limited",
    "DE811569869 | Zalando SE",
    "IT00488410010 | TIM S.p.A.",
    "PL5260250995 | Orange Polska",
    "SE556036079301 | Saab AB",
    "ES A28017895 | Telefonica",
    "EL094019245"
  ],
  "nameMatchThreshold": 60,
  "alertsOnly": false,
  "onlyChangesSinceLastRun": false,
  "trackChanges": true,
  "watchlistName": "default",
  "maxVatNumbers": 500
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per VAT number: the VIES verdict, the registered name and address, the consultation number, and whether anything moved since the last run.

## `attention` (type: `string`):

Only the rows carrying an alert: invalid, name mismatch, or not re-checked because a member state was unavailable.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Counts of valid, invalid, unavailable and changed numbers, and whether consultation numbers were issued.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "vatNumbers": [
        "IE6388047V | Google Ireland Limited",
        "DE811569869 | Zalando SE",
        "IT00488410010 | TIM S.p.A.",
        "PL5260250995 | Orange Polska",
        "SE556036079301 | Saab AB",
        "ES A28017895 | Telefonica",
        "EL094019245"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("fayoussef/eu-vat-compliance-monitor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "vatNumbers": [
        "IE6388047V | Google Ireland Limited",
        "DE811569869 | Zalando SE",
        "IT00488410010 | TIM S.p.A.",
        "PL5260250995 | Orange Polska",
        "SE556036079301 | Saab AB",
        "ES A28017895 | Telefonica",
        "EL094019245",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("fayoussef/eu-vat-compliance-monitor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "vatNumbers": [
    "IE6388047V | Google Ireland Limited",
    "DE811569869 | Zalando SE",
    "IT00488410010 | TIM S.p.A.",
    "PL5260250995 | Orange Polska",
    "SE556036079301 | Saab AB",
    "ES A28017895 | Telefonica",
    "EL094019245"
  ]
}' |
apify call fayoussef/eu-vat-compliance-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,fayoussef/eu-vat-compliance-monitor"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/CXtsRpvfMJzbnLMt9/builds/3xeYhoKdYrfCs1cbS/openapi.json