The situation repeats itself every week. You close the order with a supplier in Shenzhen, you pass it to finance, and the reply comes back asking for the supplier's VAT number. You ask the supplier and you receive an 18 character code starting with 91 that mixes digits and capital letters. It looks nothing like what you expected. The good news is that this code is exactly what you need, and that it can be checked for free in the official Chinese registry.
Why there is no separate VAT number
In most of Europe a company carries a registration number and a VAT number as two different things, issued by two different bodies. China used to work in a comparable way: until 2015 a Chinese company carried three separate identifiers, one from its business licence, an organisation code and a tax registration number.
The reform known as three certificates in one (三证合一) merged them into a single code, the Unified Social Credit Code, or USCC. Since October 2015 that one code identifies the company before the business registry, the tax authority and customs. So when finance asks for the VAT number and the supplier sends a single code, nothing is missing. That code is the tax identifier.
What to ask for
Ask for the USCC, written in Chinese as统一社会信用代码. Either term works in an email. You will recognise a valid code because it always meets these conditions:
- Exactly 18 characters, no more and no fewer.
- A mix of digits and capital letters.
- It never contains the letters I, O, Z, S or V, which the system excludes to avoid confusion with digits.
- For most suppliers it starts with 91, which identifies entities registered with the business registry.
If what arrives is 15 digits with no letters, you have been given the old pre-2015 registration number. It still helps you trace the company, but ask for the current one. The full anatomy of the code, segment by segment, is in the USCC guide.
Where it appears
| Document | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Business licence (营业执照) | Printed prominently next to the Chinese legal name. This is the primary source: always ask for a legible colour copy. |
| Official Chinese invoice (发票, fapiao) | Carries the issuer's USCC. Note that on export transactions you will normally receive a commercial invoice rather than a fapiao. |
| Contract and proforma | Should appear next to the full legal name. If it is missing, ask for it before signing. |
| Public GSXT record | The official business registry. This is where you confirm the code exists and who it belongs to. |
Why VIES will not help you
This is the most common wasted hour, so it is worth saying plainly. VIES is the European Union's VAT information exchange system and it only contains traders registered in member states. China is not one. You will not be able to validate a Chinese supplier there, and the absence of a result says nothing whatsoever about whether the company is legitimate.
The functional equivalent for China is GSXT, the public company registry. It does not validate an EU VAT number. It returns the company's registration record: legal name, status, legal representative and registered capital.
What this means on your side
Buying from a Chinese supplier is not an intra-community acquisition. It is an import, and import VAT is handled through the customs declaration rather than the reverse charge mechanism you would use with a supplier inside the EU. The supplier's USCC does not go into a European validator. It is an identifying detail of the issuer that travels with the commercial invoice and the shipping documentation.
This guide is informational and is not tax advice.The exact accounting and customs treatment depends on your transaction, the agreed Incoterm and your own tax position, and it differs between jurisdictions. Confirm it with your accountant or customs broker before applying it. What we can state without qualification is the identity part: which number identifies the Chinese company and how you check it.
How to check the code is real
Having the number is not the same as having verified it. A USCC is checked on GSXT, at gsxt.gov.cn, by searching for the code. The result should return exactly one company, and from there you only need to compare three things:
- The Chinese legal name returned by the registry must match the licence they sent you character for character. The English trading name does not count: it is not registered anywhere.
- The registration status must be active. A company that has been deregistered or is in liquidation should not be collecting deposits.
- The bank account holder must be that same company. This is the check that prevents the most fraud and the one most buyers skip.
The full walkthrough of the registry, screen by screen and with the language problem solved, is in thestep by step verification guide.
The three mistakes we see most
- Accepting the code without looking it up. A well formed USCC can be entirely real and belong to a different company. Checking it takes less time than writing the email in which you asked for it.
- Treating the English name as identity. English names are not registered in China. Two unrelated companies can use the same one, and that is exactly where impersonation gets in.
- Confusing a trading company's code with the factory's. It is common for the entity that invoices not to be the entity that manufactures. That is not illegal, but it changes who is liable if the order goes wrong, and you want to know before you pay rather than after.
In our reports this is the starting point.We confirm that the code, the legal name, the legal representative and the receiving bank account all belong to the same entity, and from there we analyse registration status, real paid in capital, litigation and corporate links. All from official Chinese sources, with licensed lawyers on the ground.
Quick questions
Is the USCC the same as a VAT number?
It performs that role inside the Chinese system, because after the 2015 unification the same code identifies the company for both tax and registration purposes. What it is not is an EU VAT number: it cannot be validated in VIES and it does not replace import formalities.
Does it work for a Hong Kong supplier?
No. Hong Kong has its own company registration system and its own identifier, with a different format and a different issuing body. The USCC identifies mainland Chinese entities. If your supplier says it is based in Hong Kong and sends you a USCC, there is something to clarify first.
The supplier says it cannot share the number. Is that normal?
No. The USCC is public information printed on the licence and published in the official registry. A legitimate supplier hands it over without friction. Refusing is not a confidentiality question. It is an answer in itself.
Can I check it myself without reading Chinese?
Yes, with patience and a browser translator. GSXT is Chinese only and has an anti bot control that can make access from outside China awkward, but searching by code is workable. What you will not get that way is litigation history, ownership structure or any confirmation that the factory physically exists.