EU VAT ID check (VIES)
The NIP module validates a Polish tax number and reads company data from the GUS register. Neither can say anything about a VAT number issued by another member state, which is what an intra-EU B2B sale at 0% VAT turns on. This module adds that check.
It is off by default. Turn it on under Polski - Modules - EU VAT ID check (VIES).
Checking an order
Section titled “Checking an order”Open the order. Under the billing address a panel shows the VAT ID recorded on it and a Check in VIES button. The answer is stored on the order, so it stays visible afterwards and survives a later look.
A valid number returns the registered company name. An invalid one returns the reason VIES gave.
The consultation number
Section titled “The consultation number”Enter your own VAT number in the module settings, for example PL5260250274. That turns the call into a qualified check, and only then does VIES return a consultation number such as WAPIAAAAaB6nrzVa.
That number is the evidence that the check happened, which is what matters if the 0% rate is ever questioned. Without your own number the check still works, but there is nothing to keep.
A result recorded on an order is always fetched fresh from VIES, never from the cache, because a cached consultation number would document a consultation that never took place for that order. Ordinary repeat lookups are cached for 24 hours by default.
Country codes
Section titled “Country codes”The module reads the country from the VAT ID itself when it carries a prefix, otherwise from the billing country. Two cases are not what you would guess:
- Greece is
ELin VIES, although WooCommerce and ISO both useGR. The module translates it. - Northern Ireland is
XI.
When VIES is unavailable
Section titled “When VIES is unavailable”VIES depends on each member state’s own registry and both can be down. Every failure resolves to “not valid” together with the reason, and only a definite answer is cached, so a temporary outage is not remembered as a rejection. Nothing is ever reported as valid unless VIES said so.
What the module does not do
Section titled “What the module does not do”It does not change the tax charged on the order, apply the 0% rate, or block a checkout. It answers whether the number is registered and records that answer. Deciding how to tax the sale stays yours.