EU VAT Guard for WooCommerce is a powerful plugin that adds advanced EU VAT number management and validation to your WooCommerce store. It helps you collect, validate, and manage company VAT numbers for your B2B customers, ensuring compliance and a smooth checkout experience.
Key Features
- Company Name & VAT Number Fields – Adds company name and VAT number fields to registration, account, and checkout forms
- EU VAT Number Validation – Offline format validation for all EU VAT numbers with optional real-time VIES validation (uses European Commission’s VIES service)
- Automatic VAT Exemption – Applies reverse charge VAT exemption for valid B2B transactions between EU member states
- VAT Rate Importer – Import current EU VAT rates for all 27 member states with special categories support
- WooCommerce Integration – VAT numbers are saved to orders and displayed in admin and emails
- Block Checkout Support – Full compatibility with WooCommerce’s new block-based checkout
- Advanced Customization – Custom labels, messages, and exemption rules
- WPML Compatible – Full multilingual support for international stores
- PDF Integration – Compatible with WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips
VAT Exemption Rules
VAT exemption is automatically applied when ALL conditions are met:
* Customer provides a valid EU VAT number
* VAT number country differs from your store’s base country
* Shipping method is NOT local pickup
* Billing and shipping countries match the VAT number country
Supported Features
- Classic WooCommerce checkout
- Block-based checkout (Cart & Checkout blocks)
- Customer registration and account pages
- Admin order management
- Email notifications
- All 27 EU member states VAT formats
- VIES real-time validation (optional)
- PDF invoice integration (WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips)
- Advanced customization options
- WPML multilingual support
- Custom field labels and messages
External Services
This plugin optionally uses the European Commission’s VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) service for real-time VAT number validation.
VIES Service Details:
* Service: European Commission VIES VAT validation service
* Purpose: Real-time validation of EU VAT numbers to verify their authenticity
* Data Sent: Only the VAT number (country code and number) that customers enter during checkout, registration, or account updates
* When Data is Sent: Only when VIES validation is enabled in plugin settings AND a customer enters a VAT number
* Service URL: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/checkVatService.wsdl
* Privacy Policy: https://ec.europa.eu/info/privacy-policy_en
* Terms of Service: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/faq.html
Important Notes:
* VIES validation is completely optional and disabled by default
* No personal data (names, addresses, emails) is ever sent to VIES
* Only the VAT number itself is transmitted for validation
* The plugin works fully without VIES validation using offline format checking
* You can disable VIES validation at any time in the plugin settings
Requirements
- WordPress 5.0 or higher
- WooCommerce 4.0 or higher
- PHP 7.2 or higher
- SOAP extension (for VIES validation)
Support
For support, feature requests, or bug reports, please contact us through our website or the WordPress.org support forums.
