VAT Problems – FAQ

If you experience problems registering your VAT ID in our shop (either when creating your profile or during checkout), the following information might help.
These notes are based on our practical experience with our shop system and VAT validation. While issues are rare, this FAQ can help to understand common causes.

Note:
The following information is provided for technical guidance only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. For binding information, please consult a tax advisor or the relevant authorities.

1. Business vs. private account

When setting up your profile, you must select “business” (not “private”) if you want to use an international VAT ID.

2. VAT ID validation checks

Your VAT ID is validated multiple times:

a) when creating your profile
b) when changing profile information
c) during every checkout

3. Address formatting issues

Our shop verifies addresses automatically via a plugin.
If you enter additional information in the street field (e.g. “Street Name 12, 3rd door on the left”), the address may not be recognized.

In such cases

• Enter only the official street name and house number
• Put additional delivery instructions into the checkout note field for our shipping team

If the address differs from the one registered in the EU VAT system, validation may fail.

4. Company data must match VAT registration

The company name, address and country used for delivery must be identical to the data registered with the VAT ID.

If the data does not match, VAT validation will fail and VAT will be charged.

During checkout, the plugin provides feedback:

• Green arrow = data could be verified
• Red cross = data could not be verified

5. VAT validation plugin behavior

The VAT plugin generally provides hints while filling in your data.
If something is incorrect, form submission is blocked and error messages appear in red, indicating what needs to be corrected.

In our experience, the plugin works as intended under normal conditions.
More information from the plugin developer can be found here:
https://lenz-ebusiness.de/shopware-6-plugins/umsatzsteuer-ustid-validierung-pro-fuer-b2b-sw6/

6. Browser extensions may interfere

Please disable:

• ad blockers
• script blockers
• pop-up blockers

or try a different browser.

Such tools may block communication between your browser and the VAT validation API, preventing suggestions or error messages from appearing.

7. Manual VAT validation via EU VIES

You can manually validate your VAT ID and address using the official EU VIES system:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies

• Requester member state: DE
• Requester VAT ID:

If VIES returns address data, this shows exactly how the information should be entered in your shop account.

8. VAT ID address and shipping address must match

For VAT-free intra-EU deliveries, the shipping address must be identical to the address registered with the VAT ID (including country and company address).

Example:

• An Italian VAT ID cannot be used with a German shipping address
• An Italian VAT ID cannot be used with a different Italian address than the one registered with the VAT ID

While other setups may be possible in theory, we must be able to verify the transaction clearly and reliably.
Using any address other than the VAT-registered shipping address would make VAT misuse possible and could leave us liable for the tax.

For this reason, we only allow VAT-free intra-EU deliveries when the VAT ID address and shipping address match exactly.