Summary
Connects directly to the European Commission's VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) to validate EU VAT numbers in real time. This is purpose-built for one thing: checking if a VAT number is registered and active across EU member states. Reach for it when you're building invoicing systems, onboarding flows for B2B platforms, or compliance tools that need to verify tax IDs before processing transactions. It's part of the Pipeworx gateway ecosystem, so you can either use it standalone or access it through their unified gateway alongside 673+ other data sources. The ask_pipeworx wrapper lets you query in natural language instead of calling tools directly.
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EU VIES VAT-number validation MCP (European Commission).
Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1684+ live data sources.
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
check_vat | Validate an EU VAT number against VIES. Returns whether the number is a valid/registered EU VAT registration, plus the registered name and address when the member state publishes them (many states return "---" or empty even for valid numbers). A false result means not registered/invalid. If the national service is temporarily down, userError is MS_UNAVAILABLE/MS_MAX_CONCURRENT_REQ etc. — treat that as "could not check", not "invalid". |
service_status | List all EU member states and whether each national VAT-checking service is currently Available or Unavailable, plus overall VIES (VoW) availability. Use this before/after a failed check_vat to tell a temporary national outage apart from a genuinely invalid VAT number. |
Quick Start
Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"vies-eu": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/vies-eu/mcp"
}
}
}
What this endpoint actually serves
tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/vies-eu/mcp returns the tools in the table
above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx,
discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.
This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.
Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pipeworx": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
}
}
}
Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1684+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx
reaches all of them from either one.
No MCP client? Call it over HTTP
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/check_vat \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"countryCode":"DE","vatNumber":"811569869"}'
No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/check_vat. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.
Standalone (no gateway account)
This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:
{
"mcpServers": {
"vies-eu": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-vies-eu"]
}
}
}
Or run it directly to confirm it starts:
npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-vies-eu
It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call
for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway
connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.
Using with ask_pipeworx
Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Vies Eu data" })
The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.
More
License
MIT
Featured
Keeps your Mac awake while Claude Code, Codex or Cursor works. Lets it sleep when they are done.
Try free for 7 days →Block distracting apps from your iPhone permanently without a 3rd party app. Free and open source.
Block now (100% free) →Notes, actions and memory. Without a meeting bot. First month 100% off.
Download for free →belt cli automatically finds the best tools and skills for your agent. image, video, music, tts...
one prompt install →Free an open-source skills that make AI coding agents easier to understand, verify, and control.
Download for free →Connect your Claude agent to live crypto prices and trading routes via 1inch
Get the MCP →