Handling of customers with VAT numbers

Lawrence

Currently, there is not a system in place to deal with customers who have a VAT number and you want to pay without VAT in a store that charges VAT.

For the stores that charge VAT, how would you want the system to deal with this?

The system can take the VAT number from the customer. It could also validate that the VAT number is a valid number. However it could not easily check that the VAT number actually belongs to the customer using the number. Therefore I don't know if it would be practical for the system to automatically remove the VAT.

I wanted to see if stores had any better suggestions for how to deal with this?

minithingsforlife

I think you need to allow orders to be put in some kind of holding bin. ie don't take payment until the seller checks out the VAT number. Allow the seller to say everything is cool now, please take the money, and send some kind of message or task back to the buyer to say we would like to take your money now.

budgetkids

Using my tax number in the US, major retailers request that a buyer sends them the proper documents. Then the retailer can make it so your account is tax exempt.
Maybe this could work for VAT? Have sellers approve usernames who are VAT exempt by having the buyer send them the proper documents/information?

Just a thought,
Chris

EDIT: Also, then if you ever implement US taxes, this same system could be integrated no matter if it is USA tax or VAT exempt.

Hoddie

I'd be wary of introducing anything that automatically checks whether a VAT number belongs to the buyer. This could be a can of worms if you say "yes" and the authorities later say "no" - the seller would probably still be held responsible by the authorities, but they in turn might have a case against you.

In any case, how many legitimate cross-border business to business sales are there on BO? I'd have thought that most buyers were end-users rather than businesses.