ComplianceReference
International Data Compliance — Which Identifiers You Must Validate
A practical reference for compliance teams and developers. Across KYC, tax, financial reporting, and trade compliance, different regulations require you to collect and validate specific identifiers — not just store them.
ℹ️This guide covers validation requirements — not legal advice. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, entity type, and transaction value. Always consult legal counsel for compliance decisions.
Contents
- KYC & AML — Know Your Customer
- EU Tax Compliance — VAT & EORI
- Financial Services — MiFID II, EMIR, AML
- Regional Tax IDs — India, Australia, Spain, Brazil
- Trade & Logistics — Container, HS Code, LOCODE
- Fintech & Payments — IBAN, BIC, Card
- Academic & Publishing
- Quick reference by region
- Implementation checklist
1. KYC & AML — Know Your Customer
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations — including EU AMLD6, US Bank Secrecy Act, and FATF recommendations — require financial institutions, payment providers, and crypto exchanges to verify customer identity. For business customers, this typically means validating:
| Identifier | Required for | Regulation | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEI | Corporate customer identification | EU AMLD, MiFID II | Guide → |
| VAT / GST | EU business customer verification | EU VAT Directive | Guide → |
| IBAN | Bank account ownership | PSD2, SEPA rules | Guide → |
| NIF/NIE | Spanish individuals & businesses | Spanish AML law | Guide → |
| GSTIN | Indian business verification | India GST Act | Guide → |
| ABN | Australian business verification | AML/CTF Act 2006 | Guide → |
⚠️Storing an identifier is not the same as validating it. AML regulations typically require verification — confirming that the identifier is structurally valid, passes checksum checks, and where possible, matches a registry record. A stored but invalid VAT number does not satisfy CDD (Customer Due Diligence) requirements.
2. EU Tax Compliance — VAT & EORI
EU businesses supplying goods or services to other EU businesses must validate VAT numbers to apply the reverse charge mechanism and avoid incorrect VAT accounting.
| Identifier | Obligation | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| EU VAT | Verify B2B customer VAT number before applying zero-rate | EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC |
| EORI | Required for all EU imports/exports above de minimis threshold | EU Customs Code (UCC) |
| IBAN | Mandate verification for SEPA Credit Transfers | SEPA Regulation (260/2012) |
| LEI | Required for all financial instrument transactions above threshold | MiFID II Art. 26 |
VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the EU's VAT registry. The IsValid /v0/vat endpoint checks the format and checksum — for VIES confirmation (active status), consult the official VIES service.
3. Financial Services — MiFID II, EMIR, AML
| Identifier | Use case | Framework |
|---|---|---|
| LEI | Entity identification in transaction reports | MiFID II, EMIR, SFTR |
| ISIN | Financial instrument identification | MiFID II, ESMA FIRDS |
| CFI | Instrument classification in reports | MiFID II Annex I |
| MIC | Trading venue identification | MiFID II Art. 25 |
| BIC/SWIFT | Correspondent bank identification | SWIFT, PSD2 |
| DTI | Digital token identification for crypto | MiCA, EMIR (digital assets) |
| CUSIP | US securities (for US market access) | SEC, FINRA |
4. Regional Tax IDs — India, Australia, Spain, Brazil
🇮🇳 India
| GSTIN | Mandatory on all B2B GST invoices above ₹20,000 | Guide → |
| PAN | Required for all entities filing income tax |
GSTIN format encodes state code + PAN + entity number. Validate both format and the embedded PAN cross-check.
🇦🇺 Australia
| ABN | Required on all tax invoices; GST cannot be claimed without a valid ABN | Guide → |
Also check gstRegistered — a valid ABN does not automatically mean the entity is registered for GST.
5. Trade & Logistics Compliance
| Identifier | Required for | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| EORI | All EU imports, exports, and customs declarations | EU UCC Reg. 952/2013 |
| HS Code | Customs declarations, tariff classification, duty calculation | WCO HS Convention |
| Container code | Shipping container identification, manifests, BL | ISO 6346 |
| UN/LOCODE | Port identification in shipping documents | UN/ECE Rec. 16 |
6. Fintech & Payments
| Identifier | Required for | Standard / Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| IBAN | SEPA credit transfers, direct debits | SEPA Reg. 260/2012, ISO 13616 |
| BIC/SWIFT | Cross-border wire transfers, correspondent banking | ISO 9362, SWIFT |
| Credit card | Card payments — Luhn check required pre-authorization | PCI-DSS, ISO 7812 |
| Sort code | UK domestic bank transfers (Faster Payments, BACS) | UK Payment Systems Regulator |
| ABA routing | US ACH transfers and wire routing | US Federal Reserve, NACHA |
7. Academic & Publishing
| Identifier | Required for | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| DOI | Persistent linking of published works, citation tracking | ISO 26324 |
| ORCID | Author identification in manuscript submissions, funder reporting | ORCID Registry |
| ISBN | Book identification for retail, libraries, ONIX metadata | ISO 2108 |
| ISSN | Journal identification in bibliographic databases | ISO 3297 |
8. Quick reference by region
🇪🇺 European Union
VAT (EU)EORIIBANBICLEIISINCFIMIC
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
VAT (GB)EORI (GB)Sort codeIBAN
🇮🇳 India
GSTINPAN
🇦🇺 Australia
ABNACN (from ABN)GST registration
🇪🇸 Spain
NIFNIEVAT (ES)
🇧🇷 Brazil
CNPJCPF
🇺🇸 United States
ABA routingCUSIPNPI (healthcare)
🌐 Global (trade)
HS CodeContainer codeUN/LOCODEIATA airport / airlineIMEI (telecom)
9. Implementation checklist
✓Identify which identifiers are required for your jurisdiction
✓Validate on ingest — not just display
✓Check checksum AND registry status where available
✓For VAT: cross-check against VIES for EU businesses
✓For GSTIN: cross-check embedded PAN across multiple GSTINs
✓For ABN: require gstRegistered for tax invoice purposes
✓Return field-level errors so users can correct mistakes
✓Log validation failures for compliance audit trail
✓Re-validate stored identifiers periodically (status changes)
✓Document which validation checks are performed for audit
Scenario guides by region
KYC Onboarding — Node.js
IBAN, LEI and VAT in one parallel flow
Logistics & Shipping — Node.js
Container, HS Code, LOCODE, EORI
Fintech Onboarding — Node.js
IBAN, BIC, credit card, sort code
Indian Compliance — Node.js
GSTIN validation for India GST
Australian Compliance — Node.js
ABN and GST registration
Spanish Compliance — Node.js
NIF, NIE and VAT validation
MiFID II Reporting — Node.js
ISIN, LEI and CFI together
Academic Publishing — Node.js
DOI, ORCID, ISBN, ISSN
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