ERROR: 'The format of the VAT Number entered is invalid ..'

Country	Country Code	Format	No of Characters	Notes
Austria	AT	U12345678	9	First character will always be a U.
Belgium	BE	0123456789	10	Prefix any 9-digit number with a 0.
Bulgaria	BG	1234567890	9 or 10
Croatia	HR	12345678901	11
Cyprus	CY	12345678X	9	The last character must be a letter.
Czech Rep	CZ	12345678 or 123456789 or 1234567890	8, 9 or 10	Delete the first three numbers if it's 11, 12 or 13 numbers long.
Denmark	DK	12345678	8
Estonia	EE	123456789	9
Finland	FI	12345678	8
France	FR	12345678901, X1234567890, 1X123456789 or XX123456789	11	Alpha characters can be n first or second position, or both. All alpha characters are valid except I and O.
Germany	DE	123456789	9	Must be the 9 digit.
Great Britain	XU	123456789	9
Greece	GR	012345678	9	For further information, see our Country code for Greece - EL or GR article.
Hungary	HU	12345678	8
Ireland	IE	1234567X, 1X23456X or 1234567XX	8 or 9	The number includes one or two alpha characters in either the last or second and last position. The last character is normally A or H. Issue with 9-digit Irish VAT numbers?
Italy	IT	12345678901	11
Latvia	LV	12345678901	11
Lithuania	LT	123456789 or 123456789012	9 or 12
Luxembourg	LU	12345678	8
Malta	MT	12345678	8
Netherlands	NL	123456789B01	12	The 10th digit is always B. The 3-digit suffix will always be in the range B01 - B99.
Northern Ireland	XI	123456789	9	For more information, see our Northern Ireland and Great Britain new country codes article.
Poland	PL	1234567890	10
Portugal	PT	123456789	9
Romania	RO	1234567890	2 to 10	A minimum of 2 digits and a maximum of 10 digits.
Slovak Rep	SK	1234567890	10
Slovenia	SI	12345678	8
Spain	ES	X12345678, 12345678X or X1234567X	9	Includes 1 or 2 alpha characters, either first or last, or first and last.
Sweden	SE	123456789001	12
UK	GB	123456789	9

NOTE: To check a country not on the list, contact HMRC or Revenue to confirm the correct format.

NOTE: Northern Ireland - After resolving the error, delete and re-enter any EC sales transactions if you've been processing under an incorrect VAT number. Otherwise you'll see the invalid VAT number message when running your EC Sales list.

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