VAT Number Check directly in SAP
Since the beginning of 2011, Carl Cloos Schweisstechnik GmbH - leading manufacturer of welding and industrial robot solutions - has been using the Mercoline SAP solution M.SecureTrade. With the M.SecureTrade module "VAT ID check", which is fully integrated into SAP, Cloos is now able to meet the legal requirements (§18e, No. 1/2 UStG) for checking sales tax identification numbers (VAT ID no .) to be fulfilled in full. About the background of the project: Since 2010, the sales tax exemption for deliveries of goods to other EU countries requires the sales tax identification number (VAT ID number) to be checked by the supplying company. With more than 2,000 debtors in the EU and countless new entries or changes every year, a manual check of the sales tax identification numbers at Cloos is too time-consuming and too expensive.
The decision was made in favor of Mercoline. With the M.SecureTrade module "VAT ID check", Mercoline offers a SAP add-on that checks the existence and validity of VAT identification numbers directly in the SAP system during the process. For this purpose, the data of the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) and/or the EU (VIES) are used.
Within a few days, the M.SecureTrade module "VAT ID check" was implemented at Cloos in a corresponding SAP namespace. Extensive user training was not necessary because they could work in the familiar SAP user interface. In addition, Mercoline was able to respond very flexibly to Cloos' wishes. For security reasons, for example, there is no direct link between the SAP system and the Internet. Queries to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) and the EU (VIES) are made via Mercoline's Communications Services.
“The software to be used should fully meet the legal requirements and be able to document the results in an audit-proof manner. The VAT ID check should also be able to be 100% integrated into the existing SAP system,” summarizes Ralf Pfeifer, head of IT and organization at Cloos, the requirements.