European VAT number - VIES VAT exempt

CS-Cart Tax Exempt, made simple!

How It works?

If your customer is from EU (European Union ) and he is representing a company (has a valid EU intra community number), the VAT from his order will be automatically removed. Simple right ?
How it works?
We take into consideration 2 aspects.
1. Shop Location
2. Customer Location
*Note: If the customer is from the same country as the shop VAT will be applied in all cases.

Backend (shop administration):

This add-on, will automatically create 1 field in customers profile:

Customer side :

By default it will show in user profile and checkout , as 2 fields, first one is a select box of country codes (EU countries) and a max 12 digit field

Verifying the validity of VAT number:

There are several checks made.
If the shop is not from the same country with the customer, here is where the add-on will do the job.
When a user is inserting his VAT number, the add-on is verifying if it is written correctly: 2 letters (country code) in the first field, and max 12 characters in the second field.
In case this condition is passed, there is a second check, this number is sent and validated on the official EU VIES system which handles VAT numbers in real time: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/

If the VAT number is valid, the user can purchase his order with tax exempt.

We created this add-on because of the headaches we had validating vat numbers which our customers provided. Also, there was always a delay, since the customers had to send us mail before purchasing.

Here are few cases to understand the principle.

We have the following variables.

Shop Location - company , Customer as individual, Customer as a company, and customer's location.

Case 1:

Shop location: Germany (Eu country)
If the Customer is from Germany, it doesn't matter if he is a company or individual, he will pay VAT.

Case 2:

Shop Location: Germany (Eu country)
Customer is an individual from France (Eu country) - so he has NO EU intra community number
In this case the customer will pay VAT

Case 3:

Shop Location : Germany (Eu country)
The customer is a company from France (EU country) - Valid EU intra community number
In this case the customer will NOT pay the VAT.

Case 4:

Shop Location : Germany (Eu country)

The customer is outside EU, so it doesn't matter if he is a company or an individual, he will NOT pay VAT. This is considered import/export and it is subject to other taxes (customs)

According to EU laws, For VAT e-commerce FAQ please read this : http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/traders/e-commerce/article_1610_en.htm

The structure of VAT identification numbers is given in the table below.