Veendo includes a rules-driven tax engine that calculates VAT based on EU and international regulations. VIES VAT number validation is built into the B2B checkout to identify legitimate business customers.
Tax engine and VAT rules
The tax engine is configured via API from the admin panel. You set a base rate (e.g., 22% for Italy), your origin territory (where your business is registered), and conditional rules per territory, channel, and customer type.
Each rule has an "effect": rate (applies a rate), exempt (VAT exemption), or reverse_charge (invoice tax to customer, for intra-EU B2B). The system also handles shipping: you can apply a different rate to shipping fees.
- Configurable base rate for your origin territory
- Conditional rules per country, channel (B2C/B2B), and customer type
- Effects: rate, exempt, reverse_charge for B2B EU
- Rounding per line or per total, with half-up/half-even/half-down strategy
Product tax categories
Each product is assigned to a tax category (e.g., "Standard Product", "Digital Service", "Food", "Books"). The category determines which rate applies to it per the rules. Some jurisdictions have reduced rates for specific categories: Veendo supports this logic.
The category is inherited by all products at creation and can be changed in bulk across multiple products at once.
- Create custom tax categories for your catalog
- Assign categories to products to apply different rates
- Bulk-change the category across multiple products
- Use categories for compliance with national reduced rates
VIES validation and intra-EU B2B
On first B2B login or first order, the system automatically validates the customer's EU VAT number via VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) using VATcomply. If the VAT number is valid and intra-EU, the `vatVerified` flag is set to true.
Tax rules with `customerHasValidVAT: true` (e.g., reverse charge for EU B2B) apply only if the flag is true. If VIES fails, the order can still proceed but without the tax benefit.
- Automatic VAT number validation on first B2B login via VIES
- Automatic reverse charge for valid intra-EU B2B customers
- vatVerified flag tracks validation status
- Manual fallback if VIES is unavailable
EU VAT rate updates
Veendo maintains an up-to-date registry of standard and reduced VAT rates for every EU country. This registry is synced automatically via VATcomply and you can use it as a base to configure your tax rules.
In rare cases of regulatory change, you can manually update a rate from the admin panel. Changes propagate immediately to calculations for all future orders.