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Deutsch ROI and VIES: arranging an EU VAT number in Spain
An EU customer asks for your VAT number or a supplier cannot find you in VIES. Check the Spanish tax number, ROI registration and invoice treatment separately.
What ROI and VIES mean
ROI is Spain's register of intra-community operators. VIES allows checking VAT identification for EU transactions. Having a NIF does not automatically mean the required registration is active. Simply adding a country prefix does not replace checking the status.
Describe the transaction before applying
Are goods or services involved? Are you buying or selling? Is the counterparty a business, and where is it established? These details matter because overseas transactions do not all follow the same rules. Private customers, special territories and non-EU transactions must not automatically be treated as ordinary intra-community B2B services.
Prepare registration in good time
AEAT describes applying for ROI inclusion using Modelo 036, including the expected date of the first intra-community transaction. Prepare genuine business evidence and a clear activity description. Allow for requests for further information. Transmitting an application is not evidence that registration has taken effect.
Check before the first invoice
Check your own and the counterparty's identification through official channels. Keep the dated result with the relevant order. Investigate an invalid result first; do not change the tax treatment merely because a customer wants an invoice without IVA. Even a valid number does not remove the need to check place of supply and other conditions.
Plan reporting and later changes
Reconcile invoices, the VAT return and Modelo 349 where applicable. Agree who checks new EU customers and when records reach the bookkeeper. If the conditions for registration end, review amendment or deregistration too. Registration should be part of your continuing invoicing process, not a forgotten one-off application.
Official sources and next steps
Related assistance: Tax advice in Spain.
Related next steps: Modelo 349: reporting intra-community transactions · Modelo 390: Spanish annual VAT summary.
Prepare your enquiry
Describe the goods or service, whether you are buying or selling, the counterparty's location and status, and the planned start. Tell us whether an ROI application or VIES result already exists.
Request assistance in EnglishUpdated: 23 October 2026. General guidance. Your circumstances and the current requirements of the competent authority are decisive.