Have you tried “exemptify” app? I had a hard time getting it to work and look ok in my theme, but maybe You will have more luck. I couldn’t also check if it works properly from other countries, there’s no sandbox for it or one I could find. Maybe using VPN? Anyway it’s the best app I could find.
2 Likes
We are working with Exemptify app, and it is working very well, we got orders from many countries in EU and for now, the B2B customer always give his VAT number before ordering.
To help you, we did a trick on our website :
- We force the customer to go through the “shopping basket” page
You can test on our website here : https://komete-xr.com/en
3 Likes
Okay, I just had a chat with Shopify Tech Support, explained them problem, and sent a link to this topic. The Support have the option to send a “FEATURE REQUEST” to the Development Team, which will check this feature and keep this in mind in any possible update works.
I SUGGEST EVERYONE READING THIS SEND THEM SUCH REQUEST.
It seems to be the only smart idea to get them aware of this problem, which doesn’t make us grow the shopify business shops properly.
Here is the shortcut link for you to chat the support:
https://help.shopify.com/en/support/contact/chat
And here is the message that you can copy them if you are too busy to write your own:
Dear Shopify Support Team,
I am writing to bring to your attention a crucial missing feature in Shopify that is causing significant inconvenience and complications for European Union (EU) businesses engaged in B2B sales. Specifically, there is a lack of functionality to facilitate VAT exemption for customers who are registered in the VIES VAT database, which is essential for seamless EU trade.
Currently, EU companies registered in the VIES VAT database are unable to benefit from VAT exemption at the point of purchase on Shopify. This poses a significant challenge for businesses trying to conduct B2B transactions within the EU, as it directly affects the accuracy of taxation and the overall customer experience.
To address this issue effectively, I kindly request the implementation of a new field in the checkout process that verifies if the customer’s VAT number is registered in the VIES VAT database. This validation process will enable the system to automatically adjust the VAT rate to 0% for eligible customers, ensuring compliance with EU regulations and streamlining the buying process for businesses involved in cross-border transactions.
By incorporating this feature, Shopify would not only enhance its platform’s compatibility with EU e-commerce regulations but also provide an invaluable advantage to its customers by simplifying their VAT exemption procedures. This improvement would foster increased user satisfaction and promote the growth of B2B sales within the EU through the Shopify platform.
I understand that the development and implementation of new features require careful consideration and technical expertise. However, I strongly believe that addressing this critical issue would greatly benefit both Shopify and its EU user base, positioning the platform as a trusted and reliable solution for e-commerce operations in the European market.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you and would be happy to provide any additional information or support needed to expedite the implementation of this important feature. Your commitment to continuously improving the Shopify experience is greatly appreciated.
I will really appreciate if you could send that as a Feature Request to your Development Team.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS 
So lets spam them as much as possible with that critical problem.
5 Likes
Hello, thank you for your information here. it as very helpful to us, and i have also now installed the Exemptify app and forced the customer to go over the shopping basket page. Everything works well so far BUT our product does not require shipping and the user manuals says “Use the customer account VAT Id validation module if your products don’t require shipping.” any idea how this works or what i have to do in this case?
1 Like
Shopify is not interested this topic which is open for over a year now. Probably even longer.
I will send the Request, but we don’t see any change here in the near future.
2 Likes
I concur @Shopify_77 VIES Validation and proper EU VAT handling is a necessity.
2 Likes
Hi, I am trying to use Exemptify, but with poor results. I just visited your store (looks cool). How did you manage to place VAT ID validation section in the right side in the basket page? When I’m trying to add this section into my basket page - it is awkwardly placed on the left side, completely invisible for the clients… Also, I see you managed to edit this section by adding an example of the VAT ID number, how did you edit it?
And the last question, does this app allows you not to charge with vat your business clients?
I’d appreciate your response 
Many thanks
Maria
1 Like
Hey Maria,
Well, for placement, I ask to developer of the module (exemptify).
For editing, same thing, ask the developer (you can eg. my website as it’s same module)
Last answer : Exactly, it allows to exempt VAT the customer (with valid VAT number in the field), it is working well on my shop
2 Likes
Hey Anonymousko,
thanks for your reply
I managed to implement the Exemptify app correctly (uff :)). I studied your store, especially your cart page with the VAT ID validation - you have it done soo well and it looks understandable for a client as well.
I see on your cart page that the VAT ID validation section is translated as well, so I wonder witch app allows this to happen. Can I ask you which translation app do you use to have such a spotless language versions? I use Hextom, but I’m not happy with some text fragments that are not translated at all.
Many thanks for your response again!
Maria
1 Like
Hello,
As Shopify developers, we’ve been running into this issue for a long time. It’s truly a necessity for many of our B2B clients. For this reason, we’ve created such an app ourselves to assist everyone with this. Additionally, it stores the VAT ID for the specific customer. The app can be viewed via the following link:
https://apps.shopify.com/oo-eu-tax-exemption
I hope this helps you further
1 Like
Hello,
As Shopify developers, we’ve been running into this issue for a long time. It’s truly a necessity for many of our B2B clients. For this reason, we’ve created such an app ourselves to assist everyone with this. Additionally, it stores the VAT ID for the specific customer. The app can be viewed via the following link:
https://apps.shopify.com/oo-eu-tax-exemption
I hope this helps you further
Hello,
We did indeed see with many of our B2B clients that this is really a must. For this reason, we have created the following app for everyone dealing with this.
https://apps.shopify.com/oo-eu-tax-exemption
I hope this helps you further
Hello,
They unfortunately haven’t picked this up yet. For this reason, we’ve created this app ourselves that is linked with VIES. I hope this helps those who are reading. If the implementation doesn’t quite work out, please let us know
Hi, this is Mike from Shopify. We have launched VAT Number Validation as part of Shopify Tax. You can read more here.
Hello Mike, thanks for a update. Its a good direction, but it would be nice if it would be open solution, not just the part of Shopify Tax. Do you think it might happen in the future? Unfortunately we dont plan to use Shopify Tax solutions, but we really need that proper B2B verification.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for adding the support and notifying us in this thread.
But, it is not entirely clear to me what you exactly need to support this. You state that Shopify Tax is needed. But, as far as I can see the registration of VAT numbers on a customer is only possible in the highest Shopify subscription (at 2300 EUR per month). Is that correct?
On our Grow plan, I cannot see the fields for VAT ID entry…
Best regards,
Wim
Sorry, at this present time we have no plans to support it outside of Shopify Tax. Basic and Manual Tax are no longer being enhanced.
Hi Wim,
VAT number validation is an exclusive feature once you’re on Shopify Tax. If you’re on plus, you can use it within Company Locations; if you’re not on Plus, you can use it on the Customers surface. In both cases, the field will appear once you select a supported country (UK or any in EU) when adding or editing a buyer.
Hello Mike,
Unfortunately this is not really a solution since customers cannot put in their VAT Nr. at Checkout.
This is necessary in the EU. If merchants have to do this manually the whole feature does not make sense in the EU.
4 Likes
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your update.
Unfortunately, this is not a viable solution for customers within the EU. When a customer wants to place a business order (and the account is not already known in the backend), the checkout must offer the option to choose between a personal or business purchase. If the customer selects a business order, the VAT field should be displayed during checkout. Additionally, there must be an option to validate the VAT number via the VIES system. This is the only correct way to comply with EU regulations regarding ‘VAT reverse charge’ orders and invoices.
The solution you’ve implemented is unfortunately not sufficient. The lack of this functionality is currently the only reason why we’re not migrating all of our webshops to the Shopify platform.
3 Likes