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# EU VAT

EU member states each set their own VAT rate, and B2B sales between member states are typically reverse-charged rather than taxed at the seller's rate once the buyer's VAT number is confirmed valid. This page covers how Solvimon applies EU VAT and validates VAT numbers against VIES.

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## Why this matters

Charging EU VAT correctly depends on two things: which member state the customer is in, and whether their VAT number is valid so the sale can be reverse-charged instead of taxed at your local rate. Getting either wrong means charging VAT you shouldn't, or failing to charge VAT you should.

## How it works

* Solvimon determines whether EU VAT applies based on the billing entity's and customer's countries, together with the [tax category](/platform-guides/invoicing/tax#tax-categories) set on the product, product item, or product category.
* With no tax calculation integration connected, Solvimon applies its native EU VAT rate for the customer's member state.
* If a [tax calculation integration](/platform-guides/invoicing/tax/tax-calculation-integrations) is connected for the billing entity, the customer's country, VAT ID, and exemption status are sent to the provider instead, which returns the applicable rate and any reverse-charge treatment.
* Reverse charge applies differently depending on the transaction: outside the EU, between EU member states, and between the EU and Great Britain each follow different rules. Solvimon prints a note explaining which applies on the invoice; see [Tax Notes](/platform-guides/invoicing/tax#tax-notes).

## EU member states

VIES validation and native EU VAT rates apply to customers registered in one of the 27 EU member states:

| Country  | Code | Country     | Code |
| -------- | ---- | ----------- | ---- |
| Austria  | AT   | Italy       | IT   |
| Belgium  | BE   | Latvia      | LV   |
| Bulgaria | BG   | Lithuania   | LT   |
| Croatia  | HR   | Luxembourg  | LU   |
| Cyprus   | CY   | Malta       | MT   |
| Czechia  | CZ   | Netherlands | NL   |
| Denmark  | DK   | Poland      | PL   |
| Estonia  | EE   | Portugal    | PT   |
| Finland  | FI   | Romania     | RO   |
| France   | FR   | Slovakia    | SK   |
| Germany  | DE   | Slovenia    | SI   |
| Greece   | GR   | Spain       | ES   |
| Hungary  | HU   | Sweden      | SE   |
| Ireland  | IE   |             |      |

> **Note**
>
> Great Britain (`GB`) left the EU VAT area; sales between the EU and Great Britain use the EU–GB reverse charge rules referenced above, not the intra-EU ones.

## Validating a VAT number via VIES

Before saving a customer's VAT number, validate it against [VIES](https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/), the EU's VAT Information Exchange System, using [POST /v1/customers/validate-tax-id](https://docs.solvimon.com/api-docs/configuration-api/customers/post-customers-validate-tax-id). The result is `VALID`, `NOT_VALID`, or `UNKNOWN` (VIES unreachable, or the number's country doesn't support automated lookup). See [validating a customer's VAT number](/platform-guides/invoicing/tax/tax-calculation-integrations#validating-a-customers-vat-number) for the full request and response.

> **Note**
>
> VIES validates a VAT number against the member state encoded in its prefix (for example `NL` or `DE`), not necessarily the customer's registered address country. A customer registered in one member state can still hold a VAT number issued by another.

## Edge cases

* A VAT number that fails VIES validation doesn't block invoicing; validation is a check you run before saving it, not an invoicing gate.
* Solvimon's tax categories (`STANDARD`, `NO_TAX`, `EXEMPT`) don't encode a country's reduced or super-reduced VAT rates on their own. For product lines that need a reduced rate in some member states and the standard rate in others, connect a [tax calculation integration](/platform-guides/invoicing/tax/tax-calculation-integrations) so the provider's jurisdiction-specific rate tables apply.

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