A supplier record holds a Tax ID country and a Tax ID, unique within your account, which identifies a company independently of how its name is written.
When a respondent names a partner whose tax ID is already on file, the two become one record. They see “Matched to an existing supplier record”, the existing record keeps its own name, and it gains the roles, contact emails and locations from the submission. Nothing already on the record is removed.
An admin entering a tax ID someone else holds is told which supplier holds it, and can decide what to do — an admin can see both records, where a respondent cannot. Assessment templates can carry a Tax ID question for the respondent's own company; partners get an “I don't have this supplier's tax ID” tick, the respondent's own company does not.
Typing is forgiving: a formatted number is normalised and shown back as it will be saved, and a number that doesn't fit its country's usual shape warns but still saves. Values under four characters are refused. Supplier search now matches tax IDs alongside names and internal codes, and the activity log names these fields in words.
A tax ID is never required on a supplier record — only assessments ask for one. This stops new duplicates rather than merging existing ones: two records that are already the same company stay separate until someone handles them by hand. Country format checks are advisory. An assessment already open when this arrives will ask for a tax ID at submit, including one being resubmitted after rejection.
