VIES VAT Validation x Virto Commerce
B2B enterprises selling cross-border within the European Union are legally required to validate customer VAT numbers before applying zero-rate VAT treatment on intra-community supplies. VIES (the European Commission’s VAT Information Exchange System) is the official system for that validation, and Virto Commerce can connect to it through its API to run VAT number checks at the point of transaction.
About VIES
VIES is a free electronic search engine managed by the European Commission that validates VAT registration numbers across the 27 EU member states and Northern Ireland. It queries national tax authority databases in real time and returns a valid or invalid response. For B2B sellers, a confirmed VIES validation result is the documented evidence that zero-rate VAT treatment was correctly applied on intra-EU transactions. Without it, the seller carries the liability if tax authorities review those transactions.
How Virto Integrates with VIES
Virto Commerce connects to VIES through its publicly available SOAP-based web service API, calling the validation service when a B2B buyer enters a VAT number during checkout or account registration. The VIES API returns a valid or invalid response along with a consultation number that serves as a documented record of the validation event.
The integration approach generally covers:
- Real time VAT number validation at checkout or account registration for EU B2B buyers
- Storing the VIES consultation number as an audit record tied to the transaction or account
- Applying the appropriate tax treatment based on the validation result
- Handling cases where VIES returns an unavailable or inconclusive response due to national database availability
Note: VIES covers EU member states and Northern Ireland only. For VAT validation outside the EU, a separate service is required. Speak with a solution partner to scope the right approach for your implementation.
Implementation Approach
Virto Commerce integrates with enterprise systems through a combination of APIs, middleware, and integration accelerators — designed to reduce implementation effort while preserving the flexibility that enterprise-specific workflows require.
Key considerations: at which point in the buyer journey VAT validation runs, checkout only or also at account registration, how inconclusive VIES responses are handled operationally, whether consultation numbers need to be stored and linked to order records for audit purposes, and how tax treatment is applied based on validation results.
Use Cases
Applying correct VAT treatment on intra-EU B2B transactions
When a B2B buyer in another EU member state claims VAT registration to receive zero-rate treatment, Virto’s checkout calls VIES to validate that claim in real time. If the VAT number is confirmed, the transaction proceeds with the appropriate tax treatment and the consultation number is stored as an audit record.
Zero-rate VAT treatment is applied only when VIES confirms the buyer’s registration, with a documented validation record for every transaction where it was claimed.
Building an audit trail for cross-border VAT compliance
Tax authorities reviewing intra-EU supplies look for evidence that VAT number validation was performed at the time of the transaction. Storing VIES consultation numbers against order records in Virto provides that documented evidence without relying on manual records or retrospective checks.
Each transaction where zero-rate VAT was applied has a timestamped, documented validation record available for audit review.
Validating VAT numbers at account registration, not just checkout
B2B buyers registering accounts in Virto can have their VAT numbers validated against VIES at the point of registration, before they ever place an order. This catches invalid or unregistered VAT numbers early rather than at checkout where they could delay order processing.
Account VAT numbers are validated when accounts are created, reducing friction and compliance risk at checkout for subsequent orders.