Title: VAT exemption validation issues Last modified: July 26, 2026 --- # VAT exemption validation issues * Resolved [joe16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joe16/) * (@joe16) * [2 weeks, 2 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/) * Hi, * The following options are enabled: - “Accept the VAT number if VIES is not available” - “Check for matching billing country” - “Keep VAT in selected countries” is set to “Base country” * Please find the following observations (the issues are described in point 1, 3 and 4): 1. German VAT number with France as a country: “Valid VAT number” (Not OK). Expected message: “Incorrect country invoice”. 2. German VAT number with any other EU country other than France: “Incorrect country invoice” (OK) 3. French VAT number with France as a country: If the VAT service is not available, I get “TVA acceptée en raison d’une erreur VIES : MS_MAX_CONCURRENT_REQ. L’administrateur vérifiera à nouveau la validation de la TVA et procédera en conséquence.” along with exempted VAT (Not OK). Expected: even if the VAT service is not available, the vat should not be exempted for the base country, due to the “Keep VAT in selected countries” option that is set to “Base country” which is France in this case. When the VAT service is available and returns valid VAT message, the VAT is not exempted for the base country and this works OK. In my humble opinion, the “Keep VAT in selected countries” should be prioritized over the exemption when the VAT service is not available. 4. French VAT number with Germany selected as a country: I get “TVA acceptée en raison d’une erreur VIES : MS_MAX_CONCURRENT_REQ. L’administrateur vérifiera à nouveau la validation de la TVA et procédera en conséquence.” (Not OK). Expected message: “Incorrect country invoice”. In my humble opinion, the option “Check for matching billing country” should be checked/prioritized before validating the VAT number. * PS: please don’t mind the exact messages wording. - WordPress: v 7.0.2 - EU/UK VAT Validation Manager for WooCommerce: v4.7.6 * Update: as I’m encountering the error MS_MAX_CONCURRENT_REQ with French VAT, please find this article [https://viesapi.eu/vies-error-the-maximum-number-of-concurrent-requests-has-been-reached-fr/](https://viesapi.eu/vies-error-the-maximum-number-of-concurrent-requests-has-been-reached-fr/) that may be helpful, in case you don’t know about it. * My best regards, - This topic was modified 2 weeks, 2 days ago by [joe16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joe16/). - This topic was modified 2 weeks, 2 days ago by [joe16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joe16/). Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total) * Plugin Support [Abd Hindi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abdhindi97/) * (@abdhindi97) * [2 weeks, 1 day ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18975643) * Hi, * Thank you for your report. We have received your ticket and are currently reviewing the points you raised. * We’ll get back to you as soon as possible with an update. * Thank you for your patience! * [nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/) * (@nummell) * [2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18976983) * Hello, Similar problem here but in Portugal…The following options are enabled: - “Check for matching billing country” - “Keep VAT in selected countries” is set to “Base country” * Please send a fix ASAP THX in advance * Plugin Support [Abd Hindi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abdhindi97/) * (@abdhindi97) * [2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18977555) * Hi everyone, * Thank you for your patience. Our development team is currently preparing a new plugin release that includes a fix for this issue. We’ll update this thread as soon as the new release is available. * Regards. * Thread Starter [joe16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joe16/) * (@joe16) * [1 week, 6 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18978282) * Hi [@abdhindi97](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abdhindi97/), * Thank you for taking into account our feedback. * My best regards, * Plugin Contributor [Tom Anbinder](https://wordpress.org/support/users/anbinder/) * (@anbinder) * [1 week, 6 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18978379) * Hi [@joe16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joe16/) and [@nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/), * Could you please update the plugin to the latest v4.7.8 and let us know if it’s working correctly now? * Thread Starter [joe16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joe16/) * (@joe16) * [1 week, 6 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18978510) * Hi [@anbinder](https://wordpress.org/support/users/anbinder/), * Thank you for your reply. * The new plugin version is still not visible on my back office plugins page. I will test once I can have access to the update. * My best regards, * Plugin Contributor [Tom Anbinder](https://wordpress.org/support/users/anbinder/) * (@anbinder) * [1 week, 6 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18978868) * Thanks! That sounds good. Please let us know how the update goes, and if you run into any issues, we’ll be happy to help. * [nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/) * (@nummell) * [1 week, 5 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18979749) * Hi, I had the option “**Skip VAT validation for selected countries**” filled with my country code, leaving this blank fixed the issue.Thank you - This reply was modified 1 week, 5 days ago by [nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/). * [nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/) * (@nummell) * [1 week, 4 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18980437) * Hi again, Ignore the previous message, that only solved the part that removed the tax from the cart.I always get invalid vat number if I use a consumer tax number and can´t proceed with the checkout.If I use a company tax number that is registred in VIES checkout processes just fine. * Thread Starter [joe16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joe16/) * (@joe16) * [1 week, 4 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18980676) * Hi [@anbinder](https://wordpress.org/support/users/anbinder/), * I have tested the raised issues and now it works as expected. Thank you very much for your responsiveness and for taking into account my feedback. * Regarding the issue reported by [@nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/): according to my knowledge the VIES service is for businesses, not for consumers. Please correct me if I’m wrong. In this case, it would be a false issue. * Thank you again for your help. * My best regards, * [nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/) * (@nummell) * [1 week, 3 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18981228) * Hi, The plugin always worked as expected, but it´s not bypassing validation in base country, even if “Keep VAT in selected countries” is set to “Base country”. * Thread Starter [joe16](https://wordpress.org/support/users/joe16/) * (@joe16) * [1 week, 3 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18981231) * Hi [@nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/) , * If you would like to bypass validation in base country, maybe you have to disable“ Keep VAT in selected countries” as “Base country” and specify the base country in the “Skip VAT validation for selected countries” field. You can double check this with the support team. * My best regards, * Plugin Support [Abd Hindi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abdhindi97/) * (@abdhindi97) * [1 week, 2 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/#post-18981579) * Hi [@nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/), * Thank you for your suggestion. * VAT validation is also used to verify the VAT number and support accurate invoicing and tax records, which is why it is handled separately. * That said, we’ll discuss your suggestion with our development team and evaluate the possibility of implementing it in a future update. * Regards. * Plugin Support [Abd Hindi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abdhindi97/) * (@abdhindi97) * [1 week, 1 day ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/page/2/#post-18982212) * Hi [@nummell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nummell/), * Thank you for your suggestion. * This is actually the intended behavior. The **“Keep VAT in selected countries”** option only controls whether VAT is applied; it does not skip VIES validation. * VIES validation is still required because it is also used by other features, such as **Company Name Auto Fill** and **Check Country by IP**. * Thank you again for your feedback. Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total) You must be [logged in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fvat-exemption-validation-issues%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US) to reply to this topic. * ![](https://ps.w.org/eu-vat-for-woocommerce/assets/icon.svg?rev=2969433) * [EU/UK VAT Validation Manager for WooCommerce](https://wordpress.org/plugins/eu-vat-for-woocommerce/) * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/eu-vat-for-woocommerce/#faq) * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/eu-vat-for-woocommerce/) * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/eu-vat-for-woocommerce/active/) * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/eu-vat-for-woocommerce/unresolved/) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/eu-vat-for-woocommerce/reviews/) * 16 replies * 4 participants * Last reply from: [Abd Hindi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/abdhindi97/) * Last activity: [1 week, 1 day ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/vat-exemption-validation-issues/page/2/#post-18982212) * Status: resolved