When a self-employed worker performs a service, they must issue an invoice for it in accordance with both European legislation and legislation of the country in which they are providing services. This also brings with it the application of the current Value-Added Tax (VAT).

Nevertheless, when the destination of the service is in another country within the EU, this invoice could be exempt from the VAT. To apply for this exemption, both the worker and the company to which they are providing services must be registered with the ROI and get their VAT number.

The ROI is the census of professionals and companies that carry out provision of services or delivery of goods in another state of the European Union.

The registration must be done through the government of each country and has no associated costs. After registration is completed, the NIF-VAT form is obtained, which will be entered into the invoice. Thanks to this registration, when the invoice is issued, VAT will not be applied.

Being registered in the Register of Intra-Community Operators and invoicing companies in other EU countries also entails a series of tax and accounting obligations to be fulfilled in the country where the activity is carried out, both for the professional and for the company.

What is the VAT Information Exchange System (VIES)?

It is a search engine for intra-community operators created by the European Commission to check if the entity being invoiced is registered with the system.

Both the professional and the company must be registered with the Register of Intra-Community Operators and therefore will appear in the VIES. If this is not the case, the invoice must be issued as if it were a domestic transaction, and the corresponding VAT legislation must be applied.

You can access the VIES to check if you and the company to which you are providing services are correctly registered here.