Checking a business before you order: ΓΕΜΗ, VIES and ΑΦΜ in five minutes

How do I verify that the shop I am about to pay corresponds to a real, active business?

To verify that a shop corresponds to a real business takes three steps and a few minutes: read the identity details the shop itself displays, search for them in the ΓΕΜΗ (General Commercial Registry) publicity service and, if the seller is in another member state or asks for an intra-EU VAT number, check the VAT number in VIES. When the three agree, you have a basis to continue. When they do not, the order waits.

The check does not prove product quality or reliability. It proves something narrower and more useful: that a legal person exists with a name, a registered office and a registry number, which you can trace if a dispute arises. The softer trust signals, such as reviews or design, are covered in the article on signs of a trustworthy e-shop; this one describes the hard verification step.

What every online shop must display

The check starts at the shop, not the register. Article 5 of the e-commerce Directive 2000/31/EC requires a service provider to make easily accessible its name, the geographic address where it is established, contact details including an email address, its trade register number and its VAT number ^[5]. In Greece, pre-contractual consumer information is further governed by Law 2251/1994, and the relevant provision (Article 3β) includes the identity and address of the supplier ^[4].

The General Secretariat for Consumers' guide to safe online shopping also advises checking that the shop is registered in ΓΕΜΗ, but without step-by-step instructions ^[3]. This text fills that gap.

• Company name and, where there is one, distinctive title.
• Legal form (private company, limited company, sole trader and so on).
• Registered office with a full address, not only a postal box.
• ΓΕΜΗ number and tax number (ΑΦΜ).
• Email address and telephone number.
• Details of the competent authority, if the activity needs a licence.

If the site does not show these in a place that is easy to find, such as the footer or a «Contact» or «Terms» page, the gap is itself an indication. It does not prove fraud, but it leaves nothing to check.

The ΓΕΜΗ publicity service: search by ΑΦΜ, name or distinctive title

The ΓΕΜΗ publicity service is public. The search form accepts a tax number, ΓΕΜΗ number, name, distinctive title or part of these, and offers filters for legal form, status, competent ΓΕΜΗ office, dates of establishment and closure, and city or postcode ^[1]. The safest search is by tax number, because it rules out similar names; if the shop shows no tax number, search by name and look at every result.

In the result, compare four things with what the shop displays: name, legal form, registered office and, where shown, line of business. They need not match the website's trade name word for word, since the shop may use a distinctive title. But the tax number, registered office and legal person must match.

What the status of the business means

The publicity form includes a status filter, with options such as «registration suspended» ^[1]. The page itself does not explain what each status means, so the meaning must be read in the entry and in the business's documents. As a practical rule, a business shown as struck off or suspended is not a suitable counterparty without a written explanation.

VIES: verifying a VAT number for intra-EU transactions

VIES is the European Commission's service for verifying the VAT numbers of EU businesses ^[2]. You enter the country code (EL for Greece) and the number, and the service says whether the number is valid. Depending on the member state, it may also return the registered name and address; the availability of those details varies and should be checked in the service itself.

VIES answers a narrow question: is the VAT number valid for intra-EU transactions? It does not say whether the business supplies the product it advertises, whether it is solvent, or whether the website you are looking at belongs to it. Use it as one of the three points of agreement, not as a certificate of reliability.

Mismatches that stop the order

A mismatch does not always mean fraud. It may be an old address, a change of legal form or a typing error. But it means you cannot rely on the register as evidence, and that you should ask for an explanation before paying.

A foreign company with a Greek-language website

A Greek-language website does not mean a Greek business. If the seller states a registered office in another member state, the ΓΕΜΗ check does not apply: the VAT number is checked in VIES and the commercial register of the country of establishment is the right place for name and status, using the details the seller is required to give ^[5]. If the seller is outside the EU, VIES does not cover the number and the check is limited to the documentation the seller provides.

Consumer rights are worth noting too. For a business outside Greece, the protection that applies depends on the country of establishment and on whether the buyer acts as a consumer or as a business. That question is examined in the article on Greek or foreign suppliers.

A worked example of the check

Suppose a shop shows a company name, an address and a tax number in its footer. You type the tax number into the publicity service and find one entry. The registry name differs slightly from the website's name, but the registered office and legal form match: that is normal if the website name is a distinctive title. The mismatch that would stop you is a different one: the tax number belonging to a business with an entirely different line of activity, or the registered office being in a different city from the one the shop states.

The next step is the payee. If the payment page or bank detail names a different company from the registry entry, ask for a written explanation: it may be a group company or a payment provider, but the explanation should be in the file before payment, not after. The last step, for a seller in the EU outside Greece, is VIES.

Recording the check in the supplier file

The check is worth doing only if it leaves a trace. Registers change, and a seller that was active in October may not be the next year. Save a screenshot or export of the result with the date, together with the shop page where the details appear.

1. Record name, legal form, tax number, ΓΕΜΗ number and registered office as the shop displays them, with the date.
2. Search for them in the ΓΕΜΗ publicity service and save the result.
3. For an EU seller outside Greece, check the VAT number in VIES and save the answer.
4. Compare with the payee of the payment and note whether they agree.
5. Record the conclusion (proceed, awaiting explanation, rejected) and who decided it.

The record is useful later: in a dispute with the seller, in an audit by your institution, or when the competent office changes. Keeping a supplier file is also covered in the article on supplier selection criteria.