ERP

ERP supplier VAT number validation

Validate supplier VAT numbers in SAP, NetSuite, or Xero during onboarding. Prevent invalid numbers from entering your accounting system and causing rejected invoices.

Implementation steps

1
Trigger on new supplier creation
2
Validate VAT via webhook or batch
3
Update supplier record with validation status
4
Flag mismatches for manual review

Code example

Node.js

const res = await fetch(
  'http://localhost:3000/api/v1/validate/DE/DE123456789',
  { headers: { 'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' } }
);
const { valid, status, company_name, company_address } = await res.json();

if (valid) {
  console.log(`Valid EU business: ${company_name}`);
} else if (status === 'service_unavailable') {
  // VIES is temporarily down — retry or allow with manual check
  console.log('VIES unavailable — check back in a few minutes');
} else {
  console.log('Invalid VAT number — charge local tax rate');
}

Python

import requests

res = requests.get(
    "http://localhost:3000/api/v1/validate/DE/DE123456789",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"}
)
data = res.json()

if data["valid"]:
    print(f"Valid: {data['company_name']}")
elif data["status"] == "service_unavailable":
    print("VIES temporarily unavailable")
else:
    print("Invalid VAT number")

API response

The TaxID API returns a consistent JSON response for every validation request:

200 OK (active)valid

{
  "valid": true,
  "status": "active",
  "country_code": "DE",
  "vat_number": "123456789",
  "company_name": "Example GmbH",
  "company_address": "Musterstraße 1, 10115 Berlin",
  "request_date": "2026-05-10T00:00:00.000Z",
  "cached": false,
  "request_id": "req_01j..."
}

Error handling

The API uses a consistent Stripe-style error format. Always handle service_unavailable separately — VIES has occasional downtime and you should not reject valid customers during outages.

active

VAT number is valid and the business is registered

invalid

VAT number format is wrong or not registered in VIES

service_unavailable

VIES or the national system is temporarily down — retry later

Ready to implement?

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