Company Monitoring: NIP Scanner, VAT White List and VIES
The NIP Scanner module checks the basic data of a Polish counterparty from its NIP number, including the company name, address and legal form. It is part of the Hyperflow service platform and is available both as a web application and as a REST JSON API.
What it checks
Information is retrieved from the official registers:
- CEIDG, the Central Register of Business Activity, covering sole traders and civil-law partnerships
- KRS, the National Court Register, covering commercial companies including joint-stock, limited liability and limited partnership companies
- The register of active VAT taxpayers, commonly called the VAT White List
- VIES, the VAT Information Exchange System
The module also validates the NIP number itself. If the number is malformed, it returns an error. If it is valid and the entity exists, it returns data such as the full company name, the form of activity, the full legal form, the registered address, the start date of activity, suspension or resumption dates, the end date, the current status, the REGON number, the email, and the KRS number.
VAT and VIES verification
Beyond the basic data, the module checks whether the NIP appears in the VAT register (the White List) and in VIES, returning the current taxpayer status and the KAS control field requestApiId. This makes it useful both for onboarding checks and for ongoing monitoring of existing counterparties.
How to access it
Access is provided through the Hyperflow web platform and through a REST JSON API. Pricing is either per query or as a time-based licence without a query limit. Since the 2020 VAT changes, the module has been extended with the White List, enabling bulk verification of VAT status, including through the KAS API and flat-file checks, plus a VIES presence check.
Try it
A free version of the bulk VAT and bank account verification tool, based on a flat file, is available without registration at nip.waw.pl/lista. To try the NIP Scanner service, see Hyperflow.
UK perspective
For UK counterparties, the closest equivalents are the Companies House register for company data and the register of People with Significant Control for ownership, alongside HMRC checks for VAT and the UK VAT number validation service.