What does it mean that a company is a VAT-taxable person?
Being a VAT-taxable person is a tax status, not a quality mark. What the registry can tell you is precisely delimited.
Who is a VAT-taxable person
A VAT-taxable person (áfaalany) is anyone who carries out economic activity in their own name, regularly and for consideration. This can apply to companies and sole traders alike, and does not depend on the company's size or profitability.
The ninth digit of the tax number carries the VAT code: 1 for those outside the VAT system, 2 for those taxed under the general rules, 3 for taxable persons with special status. An entrepreneur choosing personal VAT exemption is still a taxable person — they just do not charge VAT.
What the registry states
NAV's public register of VAT-taxable persons states a few things with certainty: the tax number, the registered name, the seat, the headcount NAV has on record, and whether the company opted for cash-based VAT accounting.
That headcount is the current state, not a closed year's average. This is why it regularly differs from the average statistical headcount in the annual filing, and why a mismatch is not an error: they measure different things.
What it does not state
The registry holds no activity code (TEÁOR), no revenue, no profit, no equity, and no owner or officer data. Those come from the company registry and the published filings, which are separate sources.
Appearing as a VAT-taxable person is not a rating: it does not mean freedom from public debts, good payment discipline or any kind of vetting. It means a taxable person is on NAV's records under that tax number.
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean that a company is in NAV's register of VAT-taxable persons?
That a registered taxable person belongs to that tax number, with a name and a seat. It is a tax status, not a judgement about the company's reliability.
Why does NAV's headcount differ from the one in the filing?
Because they measure different things. NAV publishes the currently registered headcount; the filing a closed year's average statistical headcount. The difference by itself is not an error.
Does the registry reveal what the company does?
No. NAV's register of VAT-taxable persons contains no activity code. The main activity comes from the company registry.
Is a personally VAT-exempt entrepreneur a taxable person?
Yes. An entrepreneur choosing personal exemption is still a taxable person, they just do not charge VAT. The VAT code in their tax number marks this.