VAT number not approved

[antia]

I would like to ask why this is happpening. I've checked if my tax number here in Greece is valid and it is valid. Still my vat number is not approved. I am married and that means that my husband and I submit one tax declaration. Do I have to submit my husband's vat number instead of mine?

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Antonia,

Please make sure that VAT number is in the format provided by the VIES website here. Please go to the VIES validation tool here to confirm whether you have a VAT number in the format that Upwork can validate. You should be able to submit your own VAT number.

[jmeyn]

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@Antonia P wrote:

I would like to ask why this is happpening. I've checked if my tax number here in Greece is valid and it is valid. Still my vat number is not approved. I am married and that means that my husband and I submit one tax declaration. Do I have to submit my husband's vat number instead of mine?

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Antonia,

You're confusing your tax no. and your VAT ID. 

[iovar]

Joachim, in Greece the VAT ID is the same as the Tax ID (AFM, arithmos forologikou mitroou)

Antonia, assuming you have initiated a sole-proprietorship (εναρξη επαγγελματος) with your VAT ID, you also need to be registered with VIES (ενδοκοινοτικες).
Ask your accountant if that's the case.

[jmeyn]

John,

Thanks, learnt something new again. Here in Germany the two are kept separate.

[cylver1z]

Hello Christos

Please make sure that the format of your VAT number is in the format provided by the VIES website. You can validate your VAT number format here.

[cylver1z]

Hello Christos,

We have escalated your concern and one of our team members will reach out to you shortly.

[marianna-s]

Ugh, I have the same problem. I've checked my VAT number and it's correct and should work but it doesn't. Says not approved.

[jmeyn]

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@Marianna S wrote:

Ugh, I have the same problem. I've checked my VAT number and it's correct and should work but it doesn't. Says not approved.

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 What does it say in the VIES system?

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Marianna,

Can you please check your if your VIES number matches the one listed on this website.

[marianna-s]

Hi Goran,

It says "Yes, valid VAT number."

I removed the VAT number and added it again and now the status is "Pending approval". But probably won't start working if it didn't work earlier either?

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Marianna, 

If you cleared cache and cookies it might get accepted. If your VAT is denied again let me know and one of our team members will assist you with this directly. 

[marianna-s]

I did it and now it's "pending approval" again. Should it be accepted right away?

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Marianna,

Yes that is the case not sure what is happening here. I will escalate this to our team so that we can investigate it further. One of our team members will contact you directly.

[marianna-s]

Okay, thank you. I'll wait 

[francisso]

Hi all,

I have been having the same problem. Have now tried to put IT (the country code for Italy) in front of the 11-digit number to see if that gets approved, but would really need some help. I keep getting charged VAT when I'm not supposed to (I'm totally exempted here, by the way). Also, I read I cannot claim it back with UpWork... 😞

Can I please get some help?

Ciao,

Francesco

[jmeyn]

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@Francesco U wrote:

Hi all,

I have been having the same problem. Have now tried to put IT (the country code for Italy) in front of the 11-digit number to see if that gets approved, but would really need some help. I keep getting charged VAT when I'm not supposed to (I'm totally exempted here, by the way). Also, I read I cannot claim it back with UpWork... 😞

Can I please get some help?

Ciao,

Francesco

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 Hi Francesco,

Have you tried entering it in the VIES system: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/?locale=it

It has to verify there to be acceptable. If the VIES system doesn't confirm it, it's not valid or not yet.

[francisso]

Hi Joachim and thank you,

Yes, of course I had double checked and it is valid...

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Francesco,

Your most recent VAT submission is currently pending approval. If it can be validated by VIES, it will be accepted.

[francisso]

Thanks, Valeria!

The number has not changed from when it was somehow rejected... I realized now I was being charged while I was not supposed to. The only different thing I have just tried now is to put IT in front of the number (despite the fact the website says I don't need that). Any clue if it will work? To my knowledge my number has always been validated by VIES and yet it got denied on UpWork...

Francesco

[hatzegopteryx]

One year latter and this issue is not fixed. Country code invalidates de VAT number and without country code the VAT number is not approved.

[BojanS]

Hi Gratian,

We'll have one of our agents reach out to you directly to assist you with your VAT submitting and approving.

Thank you for reaching out to us. 

[jmeyn]

I know what Gratian means. I was turned down by your support on the same matter. A VAT ID always has a country code in front of the number, FE for Germany or EU for Upwork, only with Germany this can't be entered and thus is not displayed on the invoice. For Germany just the number is displayed and not the full VAT ID.

[marlindevanloon]

I have the same problem. I have a valid VAT ID but I keep getting the notification "Not approved". Very annoying.

[AleksandarD]

Hi Marlinde,

Thanks for reaching out to us. One of our team members will reach out to you directly via a support ticket to assist you further.

Thank you.

[stepvic]

Hi Aleksandar,

Can you please have a look at my VAT as well? I have the same problem - not approved. Thanks.

Best wishes,

Victor

[AveryO]

Hi Victor, 

If your VAT number was declined, it was likely because:

• The country on VAT ID doesn’t match the country on your Upwork profile
• The name on VAT ID doesn’t match the name on your Upwork profile
• Your VAT ID is expired
• Your VAT information was entered in an invalid format (check correct format for your country)

Please let us know if you meet all the requirements listed above so that we can look into this further. 

[stepvic]

Hey Avery,

I've tried both, FI28322423 format and 28322423, both don't work.

The country set is Finland, which is from where the VAT number is too.

VAT is not expired.

The VAT number belongs to my company, which is what I set under "Legal Name of Business". 

Can you please further assist me?

Thank you,

Victor

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Victor,

One of our team members will reach out to you via ticket as soon as possible and assist you further with your VAT number. Thank you.

[jon_miles]

I'm also having this problem, my VAT details are being rejected each time yet they are certainly correct.

I've entered my VAT number provided to me by UK HMRC but it's says it's not in an acceptable format.  I prefix the number with the GB country code and it's an acceptable format but it's rejected each time.

My country is set to United Kingdom which is the authority issuing my tax certificate.

The VAT number belongs to my company, I use it for other clients across Europe without probems and the companies name is set under "Legal Name of Business". 

Please can someone help me clarify what needs changing and where?

[AleksandarD]

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for reaching out to us. I shared your concern with the rest of our team and one of our agents will reach out to you directly via a support ticket to assist you further.

Thank you.

[claire-caillaux]

Hello there,

I have the same problem with my tax number.
It is valid in VIES but won't be approved here.
I guess the trouble is with the name. I usually use my birth name, but the tax information is under my married name.
What should I do?
I try to change my name in Upwork, but I guess it won't be approved as well as my identities are all under my birth name...

Thanks for your help.

Claire

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Claire,

One of our team members will reach out to you via ticket as soon as possible and assist you further with your VAT number. Thank you.

[melissadomenici]

Hello everyone!

I have the same problem.

My VAT number is correct verifying it in the VIES website, but still not approved in Upwork. 

Now I tried deleting it and re inserting it and the status is "pending approval".

Can you fix it please?

Thank you.

[AleksandarD]

Hi Melissa,

Please allow more time for our team to complete the review as it typically takes up to 3 business days to validate your VAT number. You can check out this help article for more information on VAT.

Thank you.

[melissadomenici]

Thank you!

The issue has been solved, now my vat is ok!

Thanks everyone! 

[jon_miles]

Hey Melissa

For me, it took some digging and eventually help from upwork support member and it turned out they needed proof of association between me and my company.  Despite this being publicly available via UK gov websites, just like the VAT number check?!

It's also disappointing that the website doesn't tell you this and just says you're wrong, not approved.  This is very bad in my UX in my opinion.

Of course there any other reasons to consider like format, matching name on profile etc.

[0f6c4123]

Hello! 

My VAT number gets approved by VIES but not by Upwork. I attached a photo with the validation. I tried twice - maybe I've written it in a bad format?