NAME

Regexp::Common::VATIN - Patterns for matching EU VAT Identification Numbers

SYNOPSIS

            

              
              
use feature qw(say);
use Regexp::Common qw(VATIN);
say "DE123456789" =~ $RE{VATIN}{DE};  # 1
say "DE123456789" =~ $RE{VATIN}{any}; # 1
say "LT123ABC"    =~ $RE{VATIN}{LT};  # ""
            
          

DESCRIPTION

This module provides regular expression patterns to match any of the sanctioned VATIN formats from the 27 nations levying a European Union value added tax. The data found at http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/faq.html#item_11 is used as the authoritative source of all patterns.

JAVASCRIPT

All patterns in this module are written to be compatible with JavaScript's somewhat less-expressive regular expression standard. They can thus easily be exported for use in a browser-facing web application:

            

              
              
use JSON qw(encode_json);
my $patterns = encode_json($RE{VATIN});
            
          

CAVEAT

In keeping with the standard set by the core Regexp::Common modules, patterns are neither anchored nor enclosed with word boundaries. Consider a malformed VATIN, e.g.,

            

              
              
my $vatin = "GB1234567890";
            
          

According to the sanctioned patterns from the United Kingdom, the above VATIN is malformed (one digit too many). And yet,

            

              
              
say $vatin =~ $RE{VATIN}{GB};     # 1
            
          

To test for an exact match, use start and end anchors:

            

              
              
say $vatin =~ /^$RE{VATIN}{GB}$/; # ""
            
          

SEE ALSO

Regexp::Common

For documentation of the interface this set of regular expressions uses.

Business::Tax::VAT::Validation

Checks the official EU database for registered VATINs.

AUTHOR

Richard Simões <rsimoes AT cpan DOT org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright © 2013 Richard Simões. This module is released under the terms of the MIT License and may be modified and/or redistributed under the same or any compatible license.