How to Manage VAT Exempt Children’s Clothing Products in DecoNetwork (EU Tax Workarounds)

Some supplier catalogs may not correctly identify children’s apparel as VAT exempt for EU sales. As a result, children’s garments can inherit the default tax settings applied to standard apparel products, causing VAT to be charged when it should not be.

This article explains the most common workarounds used to manage VAT exemption for children’s clothing products in DecoNetwork.

In This Article

• Why manage VAT exemption for children’s clothing?
• Option 1: Use Product Groups to apply tax exemptions
• Option 2: Override tax settings on individual products
• Option 3: Adjust tax manually on quotes and orders
• Best practices
• Troubleshooting
• FAQs
• Additional Resources

Why manage VAT exemption for children’s clothing?

In the EU, many children’s clothing products are VAT exempt. However, supplier product data imported into DecoNetwork may not always correctly classify these items.

Because tax behavior is retained as part of the product configuration, incorrect tax settings can continue affecting:

• online storefront pricing,
• shopping cart tax calculations,
• quotes and invoices,
• Business Hub orders, and
• financial reporting workflows.

Applying one of the workarounds below allows the system to consistently treat qualifying products as VAT exempt throughout the ordering workflow.

Option 1: Use Product Groups to apply tax exemptions

Product Groups are the most scalable workaround when you need to manage VAT exemption across multiple children’s apparel products.

By assigning qualifying products to a dedicated Product Group, you can apply consistent tax behavior across all products within that group. Future products added to the group will inherit the same tax treatment, helping maintain consistency as your catalog grows.

Step 1: Create a product group for children’s clothing

1. In Admin, go to Products → Product Groups.
2. Click New Product Group.
3. Enter a Name such as:
   • Children’s Clothing VAT Exempt
   • Kids Apparel Zero VAT
4. Select the Taxes tab for the group and tick the Tax exempt checkbox.
5. Save the product group.

Step 2: Assign children’s products to the product group

1. Go to Products.
2. Locate and select the qualifying children’s products.
3. Bulk-assign it to the VAT exempt product group.
4. Save your changes.

Option 2: Override tax settings on individual products

If only a small number of products require VAT exemption, you can manually override the tax configuration at the product level.

This approach works well when:

• only a few products are affected,
• supplier data is mostly correct, or
• you need a temporary correction before larger catalog maintenance.

Step 1: Edit the product tax settings

1. Go to Products.
2. Locate the affected children’s product.
3. Click Edit.
4. Open the product pricing or taxation section.
5. Adjust the product tax setting so the item is treated as VAT exempt.
6. Save the product.

Option 3: Adjust tax manually on quotes and orders

When immediate correction is required, tax can also be adjusted manually within Business Hub quotes and orders.

This method is commonly used:

• for one-off exceptions,
• during busy sales periods,
• while catalog corrections are still being configured, or
• when products contain mixed taxable and exempt components.

Step 1: Adjust tax during order processing

1. Open the quote or order in Business Hub.
2. Locate the affected line item.
3. Edit the line item tax setting or tax amount.
4. Confirm the order totals update correctly.
5. Save the order.

Best Practices

• Use Product Groups whenever managing VAT exemption across multiple children’s products.
• Periodically review supplier product imports to ensure tax settings remain correct after catalog updates.
• Test affected products through storefront checkout to confirm VAT is calculated correctly.
• Document any manual workflows used by staff to maintain consistency during order processing.
• Clearly identify VAT exempt products internally to reduce processing errors.

Troubleshooting

VAT is still being applied to children’s products

• Verify the product belongs to the correct Product Group.
• Check whether the supplier catalog update overwrote local changes.
• Confirm the product is actually configured as tax exempt.
• Test the product using a storefront checkout rather than only viewing catalog pricing.

Tax settings reset after a supplier catalog update

• Reapply the product group assignment if needed.
• Review supplier synchronization behavior.
• Consider managing affected products through dedicated product groups for easier maintenance.

FAQs

Can DecoNetwork automatically detect which products are VAT exempt?

DecoNetwork relies on supplier catalog data and local product configuration. If supplier data does not correctly classify products, manual configuration may still be required.

What is the best workaround for large catalogs?

Product Groups are generally the easiest long-term solution because they allow consistent tax behavior to be managed centrally.

Can I only remove VAT within Business Hub?

Yes. You can manually adjust tax on individual quotes and orders without changing the product configuration itself.

Should I test products after changing tax settings?

Yes. Always test storefront checkout calculations to ensure VAT behaves correctly throughout the customer ordering workflow.

Additional Resources

• Current Taxes
• Product Groups
• Assign product group in bulk
• Product Sizing