Italy starts cancelling VIES VAT numbers
Businesses that registered in the VIES system prior to 2015 and have not reported an Intrastat return since the first quarter of 2015 will get their VAT number de-activated from the VIES database.
In principle, these VIES VAT numbers have not made any intra-Community transaction since early 2015 and therefore are being deregistered from the VIES system. This new measure is aimed at reducing VAT fraud in the carousel fraud scheme.
Being deregistered from VIES means these taxpayers will not be able to make zero-rated intra-Community transactions until they register again in the VIES system. Italy is one of the few countries requiring a separate registration in VIES. This registration involves an additional application that in some jurisdictions like Spain or Romania can be a long and cumbersome procedure.