¶ Company data from GUS and VIES verification
Company data from GUS and VIES verification in Hummerce speed up company registration and B2B orders: after entering a tax ID (NIP), the store fetches the company's name and address from GUS (Statistics Poland company registry), and checks the customer's VAT number in the EU VIES database. The mechanism works both for B2B company accounts and for individual customers buying on a company's behalf (e.g. with an invoice to a company).
As of Hummerce 2.35 (data from GUS since version 2.27, EU VAT verification since version 2.28; last changes to the modules: 2.35.0), updated 2026-09-28.
¶ Benefits and use cases
- Faster company registration and orders on a company's behalf - the customer only enters the tax ID, the store fills in the rest.
- Correct invoice data without typos in the company name and address.
- Control of EU VAT numbers before selling to companies from other EU countries - staff can see whether the customer's number was valid and when it was checked, before issuing a 0% rate invoice.
- Use cases: B2B stores, B2C stores with invoices to companies, sales to companies in other EU countries.
¶ What it looks like
Screenshot from the Hummerce demo store (BS5 template).
¶ Company data in the customer account
¶ How it works
¶ Data from GUS
- After a valid tax ID (NIP) is entered, the store fetches the company name, street with number, postal code, and city from GUS and fills in the form. It doesn't overwrite fields the customer has already changed by hand.
- Where it works:
- the Registration form after selecting "Company" (also when an individual customer wants to buy on a company's behalf),
- company account registration (Company accounts and roles),
- adding an employee by the company manager,
- order data in the cart - only in the BS4 template.
- When GUS doesn't respond or doesn't know the number, the customer sees a message and enters the data by hand.
- Data from GUS only covers companies registered in Poland.
¶ EU VAT verification (VIES)
- The store checks the customer's tax ID (NIP) together with the country from their data in VIES.
- When:
- always after a tax ID change in the customer's data - for every customer, including individuals,
- after registration - if enabled,
- after login - if enabled, no more often than every set number of days (1 by default),
- periodically in the background - if enabled; applies to customers marked as "Company" in their data.
- The result is saved in the customer's data: verified, awaiting verification, date of the last verification. Staff see it in the customer's data in the panel.
- A logged-in customer sees an icon with the result in the store: tax ID valid, invalid, or being verified (BS5 template).
- Verification only records the result - it doesn't change the VAT rate, doesn't block the order, and doesn't change the customer group.
¶ Dependencies
- Data from GUS - an access key for the GUS (BIR) service, issued free of charge on the store's request; the store submits the request, and the wait time depends on GUS.
- EU VAT verification - the European Commission's public VIES service; the customer's data must include the tax ID and country.
- Tax ID and company name fields in the registration and order forms (the standard BS5 and BS4 templates have them).
- Company accounts - optional (Company accounts and roles).
- Rules for applying VAT rates - set by the store itself.
¶ Implementation
- Requires implementation - the modules don't turn on by themselves after an update. Scope:
- data from GUS: turning on the module, entering the production key, and switching to production mode, testing on the registration and add-employee forms,
- EU VAT verification: turning on the module, deciding on verification at registration, at login, and periodically,
- translating messages, if the store runs in languages other than Polish,
- testing in a test environment and going live.
- Minimum estimated time: data from GUS - BS5 and BS4 templates from 2 h, EU VAT verification - from 1 h. The time for a specific implementation depends on its scope - we quote it individually.
- What the time depends on:
- the forms where GUS is meant to work - order data in the cart in the BS5 template requires custom work,
- how much the forms are customized,
- the number of languages,
- additional requirements, e.g. automatically changing the VAT rate after verification (quoted separately).
¶ Limitations
- Data from GUS is only for companies registered in Poland; without a GUS production key, only the test environment works.
- GUS doesn't work when editing data in the customer account or in the panel - company data is entered by hand there.
- In the BS5 template GUS doesn't fill in data in the cart - only in registration and when adding a company employee.
- EU VAT verification only records the result - it doesn't change the VAT rate, doesn't block the order, and doesn't change the customer group.
- VIES checks the number from the customer's data, not the company data given in a specific order.
- Periodic verification only covers customers marked as "Company".
- GUS and VIES messages have Polish-only values.
- We do not verify the configuration for legal compliance - applying VAT rates and counterparty verification rules are set by the store.
¶ Future development
- Automatically applying the 0% VAT rate after a positive VIES verification for companies from other EU countries.
- VIES verification of the company data given in the order, not just in the customer's data.
- Data from GUS in the BS5 template's cart, in the customer account, and in the panel.
- Fetching company data from registries of other EU countries.
- The VIES verification result available in REST API and MCP.
¶ Frequently asked questions
Does data from GUS work for companies outside Poland?
No. Data from GUS only covers companies registered in Poland.
Does VIES verification block placing an order with an invalid VAT number?
No. Verification only records the result - it doesn't block the order, doesn't change the VAT rate, or the customer group.
Does GUS fill in company data in the cart?
Partly - only in the BS4 template. In the BS5 template GUS works in registration and when adding a company employee, but not in the cart.
Does VIES verification run automatically on every login?
Not by default. Verification at login and registration, and periodic background verification, are enabled separately in the panel configuration.
How long does implementing the GUS and VIES integration take?
Data from GUS - from 2 h, EU VAT verification - from 1 h. Order data in the BS5 template's cart requires additional custom work.
Is access to the GUS service paid?
No. The access key for the GUS (BIR) service is issued free of charge on the store's request.
¶ Related
- B2B and B2C sales in one store, B2B sales - overview
- Company accounts and roles
- Registration
- On hummerce.com: B2B platform (in Polish)
Want to see how data from GUS and VIES could work in your store? Contact the Hummerce team (in Polish).
¶ Configuration details
¶ Access in the admin panel
- Panel configuration:
- the GUS group - Mode (test or production mode), URL, User key (production), TEST URL, TEST User key, Enable logging, response timeout settings,
- the Vies module group - Verify during registration (off by default), Verify during login (off by default), Verify in Vies - periodic verification (off by default), Verify every (days) (1 by default), Vies CheckVat Webservice address, Additional logs.
- Customer in the panel: the EU VAT verification result in the customer's data.
¶ REST API and MCP
- No operations on GUS data or VIES results in REST API and MCP (AI assistant - MCP server).
¶ Store messages
Messages are changed in the message editor, properties and locations - in Properties and locations. Default values are available in Polish and English.
| Key | Default value |
|---|---|
msg.gusIntegrationPlugin.error |
Sorry, we can't fetch the data right now. Try again later |
msg.editor.compayAccount.company |
Company |
msg.editor.compayAccount.naturalPerson |
Natural person |
msg.plugin.vies.valid |
VAT number valid |
msg.plugin.vies.invalid |
VAT number invalid |
msg.plugin.vies.during |
VAT number during verification |
Property location: customerAdminDetails (customer) - the EU VAT verification result in the customer's data.
¶ Parameters
| Symbol | Object | Label |
|---|---|---|
_customerVerifiedVIES |
customer | Customer verified in VIES |
_waitingToBeVerifiedVIES |
customer | Awaiting verification in VIES |
_lastTimeVerifiedVIES |
customer | Last verified |