Sweden · VAT

Sweden Tightens VAT Registration Rules: Skatteverket's New Powers, Explained

Skatteverket can now demand in-person identity checks, refuse or revoke a VAT registration it considers a fraud risk, and mark a Swedish VAT number invalid across the EU's VIES system.

What Has Changed?

Effective 1 July 2026, Sweden's tax authority, Skatteverket, gained expanded powers over who can hold — and keep — a Swedish VAT registration, as part of a broader push against VAT fraud. The changes affect new applicants and existing VAT-registered businesses alike.

1. In-Person Identity Verification

Skatteverket can now require an applicant to appear in person to verify their identity before a VAT registration is granted. This goes beyond the standard paperwork-based application process businesses may be used to from other EU jurisdictions.

2. Power to Refuse or Revoke Registration

Skatteverket can refuse a new VAT registration application, or deregister an existing VAT number, where it assesses the business as a fraud risk. This is a discretionary power — it doesn't require a prior conviction or formal finding, only Skatteverket's own risk assessment.

3. VIES Invalidation

Where a Swedish VAT number is revoked, it is also marked invalid in VIES — the EU's cross-border VAT number validation system. Since VIES validity underpins reverse-charge invoicing and intra-EU zero-rating for trading partners, a revoked number can silently break VAT treatment for anyone who trades with that business, not just the business itself.