VAT number questions thread - for all who needs more info

Hello everybody! So i have a question: what is the VAT number? Is it like TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) or what?

1) I'm asking this cause i need to know - do i need this VAT as a publisher who lives not in Europe?

2) If answer to question number 1 is "No", then do i must paste my TIN number in "VAT" field?

this is really annoying, cause somebody says that VAT is like TIN, and others say that they are different. So i need to clarify this.

Thanks in advance!