New VAT identification number? Do not dispose of your old VAT number!
New VAT identification number? Do not dispose of your old VAT number!
All entrepreneurs with a sole proprietership will receive a new VAT identification number in the coming period. However, this does not mean that the old VAT number can be thrown away. The entrepreneur must continue to use this old number for communication with the tax authorities such as submitting the VAT return.
The allocation of this new VAT number was necessary because the old number contained the citizen service number (BSN) of entrepreneurs with a sole proprietorship. This is in violation of the privacy law and could possibly also lead to fraud. The VAT entrepreneur must use the new number from 1 January 2020 for all external business contacts. Invoice documents, internet site and other means of communication therefore have to be adjusted for that time and mention the new number. This way the personal BSN is no longer visible to others.
Don’t throw the old VAT number away!
The allocation of this new number does not mean that the old number can go into the bin. The old number must still be used for the communication with the tax authorities, for example for filing the VAT return. The entrepreneur must therefore continue to use two numbers next to each other.