VAT validation that actually works in 2026.
EU VIES + UK HMRC + Swiss UID-Register, hit at registration AND checkout. Auto-applies the right customer group so your zero-tax rule fires before the order is placed. DACH-ready 10-year audit log built in.
Three upstreams. One unified result. Pluggable per region.
EU VIES (REST)
All 27 EU member states + Northern Ireland (XI). Uses the current REST endpoint — no SOAP, no ext-soap. Captures the requestIdentifier for §18 UStG qualified confirmation.
UK HMRC lookup
The public unauthenticated HMRC endpoint — no OAuth, no client registration. Returns company name + address from the official HMRC database.
Swiss UID-Register
Bundesamt für Statistik integration. Returns valid only when the organisation is active AND VAT-registered (MWST) — matching what an EU/UK merchant means by 'valid Swiss B2B counterparty'.
Built for German Finanzamt audits — useful for any merchant.
DB-backed validation log
Every valid / invalid outcome persisted to byte8_vat_validator_log with raw upstream payloads. Ten-year default retention matches §147 AO. Transient errors are not logged.
CSV / Excel export
One-click export from the admin grid. Separate ACL resource so you can grant view access without granting export — tighter than most competitor extensions.
GDPR / privacy
Lawful basis: Art. 6(1)(c) tax-law obligation, not consent. We provide suggested privacy-policy copy and a worked example of how erasure interacts with §147 AO retention.
Live in-form validation across every Magento storefront family.
Hyvä companion
Alpine + Tailwind indicator under the registration form. No extra JS dependencies — both already ship with Hyvä. Drops in via layout XML.
VelaFront / Next.js
React hook + drop-in <VatInput> component. AbortController-cancelled in-flight requests, 600ms debounce. Mirrors the server normaliser to stay consistent.
Anonymous REST endpoint
GET /V1/byte8-vat-validator/validate/:cc/:vn — call from any frontend, headless or otherwise. Same code path the live observers use.
Five minutes to running.
Composer install, one config flag, and a CLI smoke test. No external account needed.