A VIES audit trail for every zero-rated Shopify order

Every order the reverse charge applies to carries its own evidence: the buyer’s VAT number, the VAT treatment with the Article 196 note, and the VIES consultation reference that shows the number was valid on the day of the sale. Fedev — EU VAT & VIES also keeps VAT records of every check, which you can export to CSV or PDF.

Why it matters

When you zero-rate a cross-border B2B sale, you carry the VAT liability if the buyer’s number turns out not to have been valid. A tax authority can ask why VAT was not charged. The answer is the consultation reference VIES issued at the time — not a screenshot, and not a number checked again months later.

What is written onto the order

Each order gets these fields in its order details (additional details), where they stay for as long as you keep the order in Shopify:

• VAT ID — the number the buyer entered
• VAT treatment — for a reverse-charged order, “Reverse charge — VAT to be accounted for by the customer (EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC, Article 196)”
• VIES reference — the consultation reference, when VIES issued one
• VIES checked — a trace for orders where a number was checked but VAT stayed on, so a failed check is not invisible later

VAT records in the app

The VAT records screen lists each order with its VAT number, VIES status, decision, consultation reference, tax Shopify applied and date. Orders that need your attention are flagged:

• Needs review — VIES did not answer, or free validations ran out; VAT stayed on.
• Tax mismatch — the reverse charge was decided but the order still carries VAT.
• Guest buyers with a valid cross-border number, whose VAT could not be removed automatically.

Export the records to CSV or PDF at any time. The app’s own copy is kept for 90 days, so download what your accountant needs within that window.

Getting consultation references

Add your own VAT number in Settings. Without it, VIES still answers valid or invalid, but issues no consultation reference, and zero-rated orders go unproven.