Value-added tax code registration hoax

Business owners have recently been on the receiving end of offers for European value-added tax code registration. These “services” are offered at steep prices which have been reported to exceed € 700.

The Tax and Customs Administration has warned that these offers for EU registration are a sham: “The issue and registration of value-added tax codes is the prerogative of the tax authorities. Value-added tax codes on issue are recorded both domestically and at EU level. There is no reason at all for additional registration”, according to the Dutch tax authorities.

The European Commission too has issued a similar warning, hundreds of fraud reports already having been filed in the various EU Member States.

European business owners have the complimentary option of checking the veracity of value-added tax codes by logging on to the European Commission’s website.