Aqid ERPMeaning
Verifying a VAT number (التحقق من الرقم الضريبي) means confirming with ZATCA that the number on a supplier's invoice belongs to a business registered for VAT. The authority's lookup service takes a VAT number, a commercial registration number or a VAT certificate number and returns the registered name and status. It is free and needs no account.
It matters because input VAT is deductible only against a tax invoice from a registered supplier. A number of the wrong shape (not fifteen digits, not starting with 3, not ending in 03), a number that belongs to another company, or a registration that was cancelled all mean the VAT paid cannot be reclaimed and the invoice is not a tax invoice. Check new suppliers once at onboarding and again when a number changes. The QR code on a simplified invoice carries the seller's number too; this site's QR checker reads it, but only ZATCA's service says whether it is live.
Also called: check a VAT number · VAT lookup · verify tax registration
Example
A new supplier's bill shows VAT number 300000000000004. The accountant enters it on ZATCA's lookup, sees "Gulf Supplies LLC — registered", files the screenshot with the supplier record, and reclaims the 1,485.00 of VAT on the bill in the next return.