VIES Register Registration in Italy: how to do it with the Italian Revenue Agency

What is VIES and what is it for?

The VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is a large European list where VAT numbers authorized for intra-Community operations are registered.

What is its practical purpose?

It serves two main actors: businesses and tax authorities.

For your business (practical daily utility):

• Instant verification: It allows you to check in real-time if the VAT number of your Community client or supplier is valid and active for intra-Community operations.
• Correct invoicing: If the VAT number is valid, you can issue your invoice VAT-exempt (applying the 0% rate), knowing you are compliant.
• Risk protection: It is your due diligence tool to avoid costly mistakes. Invoicing a “non-VIES” company means having to apply Italian VAT.

For tax authorities (the “orchestration” behind the scenes):

• Control and traceability: The system allows for monitoring the exchange of goods and services between EU countries, combating VAT fraud (like carousel fraud).
• Information exchange: The Italian Revenue Agency and the French tax authority, for example, can automatically exchange data and verify the correspondence of declarations.
• The analogy of the “fiscal passport” is fitting. Just as a passport allows you to travel legally between countries, VIES registration is the “fiscal passport” that enables your company to operate in the single European market with the applicable VAT benefits.

In summary:

VIES is not an additional tax obligation, but the tool that makes it possible and safe to apply EU VAT regulations. Without it, every transaction abroad would be bureaucratically complex and fiscally more burdensome.

Next essential step: Knowing who must register for this “VIP list” and how to do it. It’s a simple and free procedure completed online in the reserved area of the Revenue Agency.

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VIES and intra-Community operations: why it is fundamental

VIES: The VIP Club of Europe where business is done

Imagine Europe for businesses as a huge playground (the single market). Everyone can enter, but to go on the coolest rides (buying and selling between countries without problems) you need a VIP wristband.

VIES is precisely the list of those entitled to that wristband. It’s the European VIP Club of VAT Numbers.

How does the main ride work? (The intra-Community operation)

Let’s pretend you (in Italy) want to sell 100 video games to your friend Pierre in France, who will resell them in his shop.

Wristband check (VIES Verification): First, you check if Pierre has the VIP wristband. You go to the club’s website (the VIES portal), enter his French code and… BINGO! He is registered. You also have your wristband (your VIES registration).

The special sale (VAT-exempt invoice): Since you are both in the club, you can do something special. You invoice him for the 100 video games WITHOUT ADDING ITALIAN VAT (the 22% one). You just tell him the base price. It seems like an amazing discount!

Where does the tax go? (Reverse Charge): The tax (VAT) doesn’t magically disappear. Simply, instead of paying it to you in Italy, Pierre will pay it directly to his state, France, when he does his accounting. It’s as if you told him: “Take the video games, and you pay the tax for the state directly to your cashier, okay?”

What is the Reverse Charge?

There are also cases where the reverse charge applies within Italy, especially in sectors considered more sensitive, such as construction or some specific services. Here too the logic is the same: to avoid VAT being collected and then not paid.

It is important to know that the reverse charge is not a free choice. You cannot decide to apply it or not. If the operation falls under the cases provided for by law, it must be applied correctly. If it is used when it is not due, or not used when it is mandatory, you risk fines and tax problems.

In a nutshell, the reverse charge is a system that makes VAT safer and more controlled. The seller does not touch the VAT, the buyer assumes responsibility for it, and the State can keep everything under control. This makes exchanges, especially international ones, more transparent and harder to use incorrectly.

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Why is this VIP Club (VIES) so important and strict?

To avoid cheaters (VAT Fraud): Without this control, a cheat could pretend to be a French company to avoid paying VAT anywhere. The club checks that everyone is serious and registered.

To be sure who is playing (Control and security): The playground wants to be sure that only real and reliable companies are on the rides, not ghosts. VIES is the official guest list.

To make everything easy and safe (Security of exchanges): This way, you sell to Pierre easily, the French state is sure to receive its taxes, and the Italian state knows the sale is regular. Everyone is calm.

In one super simple sentence:

VIES is the gold list that allows you to do business with Europe in an easy and safe way, moving the tax payment from the seller to the buyer, but only if you are both on the list.

European company or non-EU: what’s the difference?

This is where much confusion arises.

EU Company

If the company is resident in an EU country, it is enough to have:

• A VAT number
• VIES registration
• Non-EU Company

If, however, the company is outside Europe, the story changes:

• It needs a fiscal representative in Italy
• It needs a surety bond (insurance guarantee)
• Only afterwards can VIES registration occur

When talking about VIES and operations abroad, one of the most frequent confusions concerns the difference between a European company and a non-EU company. Understanding it is fundamental because the rules change significantly.

A European company is a business with its registered office in one of the countries of the European Union. In this case, the path is simple and linear. It is enough to have a valid VAT number and request VIES registration.

Once registered, the company can buy and sell goods or services with other European companies applying the intra-Community VAT rules, therefore without VAT on the invoice and with the reverse charge mechanism. No guarantees, no intermediaries, no additional steps are needed.

The situation changes when the company is non-EU, meaning it has its registered office outside the European Union.

In this case, the Italian State requires more safeguards. The company cannot operate directly like a European company but must first appoint a fiscal representative in Italy. The fiscal representative is the person or company that assumes tax responsibility on behalf of the foreign company.

In addition to the fiscal representative, non-EU companies are also required to provide an insurance surety bond.

This surety serves as a guarantee towards the Italian State and aims to cover any risks related to VAT, such as omissions or fraud. Only after presenting the surety bond and required documentation is it possible to proceed with VIES registration.

For non-EU companies, this requirement is met through an insurance-based VAT guarantee with an Italian co-obligor.

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It is precisely at this point that specialized insurance surety bonds come into play, like those handled by italiafideiussioni.it, active both nationally and in local contexts such as surety bonds in Florence.

These guarantees are not a bureaucratic detail but a mandatory step to allow a non-EU company to operate regularly in the European market.

In summary, if the company is European the path is simple and fast: VAT number, VIES registration, and you can work.

If the company is non-EU, however, more steps, more checks, and an insurance surety bond are needed because the State wants to be certain that VAT rules are respected from the start.

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Who must register for VIES?

All businesses that have a VAT number and that buy or sell goods or services to subjects located in other countries of the European Union must register for VIES.

It does not matter if it is a large company, a small business, or a single professional. What matters is the type of operation being carried out.

If a business or professional issues invoices to European clients or receives invoices from European suppliers, VIES registration becomes necessary. Without this registration, it is not possible to correctly apply intra-Community VAT rules and you risk invoicing incorrectly.

The tax regime makes no difference. Those on the flat-rate regime, those on the ordinary regime, capital companies, partnerships, and sole proprietorships all follow the same rule. If they do intra-Community invoicing, they must be registered for VIES.

In practice, VIES is mandatory every time you enter into a commercial relationship with a subject in the European Union using the VAT number. It is a control tool that allows the State to know who can operate at the European level and correctly apply the VAT mechanism, like the reverse charge.

For this reason, before issuing or receiving an invoice from an EU subject, it is always important to verify your position and ensure you are regularly registered for VIES through the Revenue Agency. Without this registration, even a seemingly simple operation can turn into a tax problem.

The €50,000 surety bond: what it’s really about

This is one of the most searched questions.

The €50,000 surety bond:

• Does NOT serve Italian companies
• Does NOT serve EU companies
• DOES serve non-EU subjects with a fiscal representative

It is a guarantee required by the State to avoid VAT fraud.

A true insurance surety bond, often requested through specialized intermediaries like italiafideiussioni.

The €50,000 surety bond is one of the topics that causes the most confusion, because it is often mentioned without properly explaining when it is really needed and when it is not. In reality, the rule is very precise and clearly written in the legislation.

Let’s start from a fixed point: the €50,000 surety bond does not concern Italian companies and does not concern companies with a registered office in an EU country. If a company is Italian or European, to register for VIES only the VAT number and the request to the Revenue Agency are needed. No guarantee, no surety bond.

The surety bond comes into play only in one specific case, that is when the subject that wants to operate in Italy and in VIES is non-EU. We are therefore talking about companies with a registered office outside the European Union, such as the United States, post-Brexit United Kingdom, Switzerland, China, or other non-Community countries.

These companies, to operate fiscally in Italy, cannot act directly. Italian law requires them to appoint a fiscal representative in Italy. The fiscal representative is the subject who answers to the Italian Tax Authority for all VAT matters of the foreign company.

Precisely because the tax risk is higher, the State requests a guarantee. This guarantee is the insurance surety bond, often for the amount of €50,000. It is not a tax and not a lost cost: it is a guarantee that serves to cover any VAT debts, fines, or irregularities.

From a regulatory point of view, all this is provided for by DPR 633 of 1972, which is the basic text of VAT in Italy. In particular, Article 35, paragraph 7-quater, provides that for non-resident subjects operating in the territory of the State through a fiscal representative, suitable guarantees to protect the Treasury may be required.

For a long time, however, this provision had a predominantly programmatic scope, as the rule did not define either the amount of the guarantee or the operational methods for providing it. In the absence of implementing instructions, the obligation to present a surety bond was not applied systematically as a condition for inclusion in the VIES register.

If the company is Italian or EU, the surety bond is not needed.

If the company is non-EU and wants to register for VIES through a fiscal representative, the surety bond is mandatory by law.

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How to activate VIES registration?

Practical procedure, step by step:

• Access the Revenue Agency website
• Enter the reserved area with SPID, CIE, or CNS
• Go to “Servizi per comunicare” (Services for communicating)
• Select “Archivio VIES” (VIES Archive)
• Check “Comunicazione di inclusione” (Inclusion communication)
• Enter your VAT number
• Click Send
• Done.

The registration is immediate.

How much does VIES registration cost?

Registration to VIES:

• Is free of charge
• Does not require fees
• Does not require stamps

Possible costs arise only if:

• You are a non-EU subject
• You need to present a surety bond

How long does it take to be operational?

For Italian and European subjects:

• Immediately

From the moment of sending:

• The VAT number is active in the VIES register
• You can invoice immediately
• VIES registration and opening a VAT number

You can register for VIES:

• After opening the VAT number
• During the opening

In the second case, simply fill out the AA9/12 form and indicate the option for intra-Community operations.

How to verify VIES registration

VIES verification is simple:

Go to the European Commission website

Enter:

• VAT number
• Country of belonging
• Start the search

This is how you do the VAT number VIES check and know if the subject is registered.

Verifying if a VAT number is registered for VIES is a very simple operation and is a fundamental step before issuing or receiving an intra-Community invoice.

The verification is done directly online, using the official service provided by the European Commission. This system connects all the VAT databases of the EU countries and allows checking in real-time if a subject is authorized to operate in the intra-Community sphere.

To perform the check, just connect to the VIES portal, enter the VAT number you want to verify, and select the subject’s country of belonging. Once the search is started, the system immediately returns the outcome.

If the VAT number is valid, it means the subject is correctly registered for VIES and can participate in intra-Community operations with the application of the reverse charge. If, however, the VAT number is not present, it means the subject is not registered in the VIES register and cannot operate according to intra-Community VAT rules.

This check is important because it protects the issuer of the invoice. Verifying VIES registration before invoicing allows you to know with certainty if the operation can be carried out without VAT or if it is necessary to apply it. This way you avoid mistakes, disputes, and possible tax fines.

How to register for VIES with the Revenue Agency if you are a non-EU company and how long it really takes

When a company is not based in the European Union, VIES registration does not follow the simple online procedure provided for Italian or EU companies. The path is more articulated because Italian legislation requires greater fiscal safeguards.

Let’s look at everything in order.

A non-EU company, to be able to operate in Italy with VAT and access VIES, cannot act directly. The first mandatory step is the appointment of a fiscal representative in Italy. The fiscal representative becomes the official contact of the foreign company with the Revenue Agency and is responsible for all VAT compliance.

Once the fiscal representative is appointed, we move on to the most delicate part: the guarantee.

For non-EU subjects, inclusion in VIES can only occur after the presentation of an insurance surety bond, as provided for by Article 35, paragraph 7-quater, of DPR 633/1972 and made fully operational by the Revenue Agency provision of April 14, 2025.

The surety bond aims to guarantee the State against potential VAT irregularities. In practice, it is often a guarantee for a significant amount (frequently €50,000), which must be issued by an insurance company or an authorized intermediary.

At this point the procedure is entirely “offline”, meaning it does not happen via the web portal as for Italian companies.

The fiscal representative must present the documentation at the Office of the Provincial Directorate of the Revenue Agency competent based on their tax domicile. The documentation includes:

Request for inclusion in VIES

Act of appointment of the fiscal representative

Insurance surety bond conforming to the required requirements

Only after the correct deposit of all documentation does the Revenue Agency proceed with the evaluation of the practice.

How long does it take to be registered?

Here it is important to be very clear, because it is one of the most underestimated points.

For a non-EU company:

• VIES registration is not immediate
• Does not happen automatically

Requires formal checks by the Revenue Agency

The timing depends on three main factors:

• Speed in obtaining the surety bond
• Completeness of the documentation presented
• Processing times of the competent territorial office

Under normal conditions, from the moment all documentation is correct and complete, inclusion in VIES can take several weeks. In some cases, times may lengthen if the office requests integrations or clarifications.

This means that a non-EU company cannot immediately start operating under the intra-Community regime, as happens for an Italian or European company. Until the effective inclusion in VIES:

• It is not possible to apply the reverse charge
• VAT must be managed with different rules
• Operating without authorization exposes you to tax risks

In summary, if you are a non-EU company:

• VIES is possible, but not immediate
• A fiscal representative is needed
• An insurance surety bond is needed
• Technical verification times are needed

And it is precisely for this reason that, in practice, these procedures are often managed with the support of operators specialized in insurance surety bonds and VIES practices, to avoid errors, delays, and operational blocks that can have a significant economic impact.

What happens if the foreign client is not registered for VIES

Delicate case.

If the client is not registered for VIES:

You must apply VAT on the invoice

The VAT must be paid in Italy

If you don’t do it:

• Risk of fines
• Risk of tax recoveries

This is why VIES verification is always fundamental.

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