Verify VAT ID for international sales
Questions:
- How can I verify the tax number for business customers?
Description:
For international sales to business customers within the European Union, TYRIOS automatically requests the customer's tax identification number when the order is placed. A valid tax identification number is a prerequisite for the reversal of the tax burden to take effect and for tax-free shipping to be possible. If the tax identification number is not valid or does not sufficiently match the delivery address, the delivery must be made with tax.
In order to check the customer's tax identification number, TYRIOS has an integrated interface to the Federal Central Tax Office. With this interface, it is possible to compare the specified delivery address with the data stored at the Federal Tax Office. An exact match is not necessary, a sufficient match is sufficient. Unfortunately, it is not specified exactly how this sufficient match is determined. It is therefore up to you as the supplier. You should therefore document the test and the result of the test and be able to present it in case of doubt. TYRIOS will record the test for you.
Solution:
A prerequisite for checking your customer's tax identification number is your own tax identification number. TYRIOS takes this from your system settings. If the tax identification number is stored here, the check is available in the order for customers with a specified tax identification number.
- Go to the order with a foreign corporate customer.
- TYRIOS has requested the tax identification number for an order placed via the online shop. For manual orders, you can enter it manually in the order editor. You can find the tax identification number in the meta data of the order under "VAT ID no.".
- Next to the tax identification number is a button to start the check. After clicking, the result is displayed directly. The button changes colour depending on the status
- Green: The check is successful
- Yellow: There are discrepancies in the stored customer data. You need to weigh up the situation.
- Red: The check is negative. A delivery may not be made tax-free.
- Click on the button again to see all the details of the check.
Tips and Tricks:
If the result of the audit is yellow, you have to weigh up your decision. In the worst case scenario, you will have to weigh up the VAT during a tax audit. It is therefore advisable to record your decision. The comment function in the order is available for this purpose. This makes it easier for you to retrace the process later in the event of a tax audit.
If you come to a negative decision or the result is red, a tax-free delivery is not permitted. In this case, you should discuss the next steps with the customer. You can edit the stored tax identification number at any time in the order editor and then carry out the check again. If no clarification is possible, you can remove the tax identification number. From this mode, TYRIOS automatically switches to tax mode and the delivery is made with the stored tax rates. Please note that a payment may have to be requested subsequently.