§ FOR — IMPORTERS & WHOLESALERS
Verify VAT + EORI on intake. Snapshot the evidence the day you signed the PO.
New EU supplier onboarding is one fraudulent VAT number away from a missing-trader assessment.
For: procurement, customs, finance directors
★ COUNTERSURE ★GBIMPORTERS2026-04-16VERIFIED
§ 02 — THE FLOW
01
Sales contact submits new supplier
02
Procurement runs VAT + (soon) EORI check
03
Stamped result attached to vendor master record
04
Re-stamped quarterly — drift = alert
§ RISK NOTE
Missing-trader fraud can result in HMRC withholding input VAT and pursuing the buyer for the loss.
“A new EU supplier had a deregistered VAT number. We caught it before the first invoice cleared.”
— Importers & Wholesalers, anonymised