Tutorial: VAT Rates (EU)

Finance

Data source: European Commission

Overview

VAT Rates (EU) wraps European Commission, handling authentication, pagination, and rate limits for you. This tutorial covers all 6 tools with working code examples you can copy and run.

Prerequisites

Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup for a free API key (100 calls/day).
Choose your integration method: MCP protocol or REST API.

Connect via MCP

Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.):

MCP Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gnist-vat-rates": {
      "url": "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/",
      "headers": {
        "Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools (6)

`get_vat_rate`

Get VAT rates for a specific European country. Returns standard rate, reduced rates, super-reduced rate, and parking rate where applicable.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`country_code`	string	required	ISO alpha-2 country code (e.g. DE, FR, SE).

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "get_vat_rate", "arguments": {"country_code": "DE"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'country_code': 'DE'}, 'name': 'get_vat_rate'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`list_all_vat_rates`

List VAT rates for all European countries. Returns standard and reduced rates for all EU/EEA member states plus UK and Switzerland.

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "list_all_vat_rates", "arguments": {}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {}, 'name': 'list_all_vat_rates'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`search_vat_rates`

Search VAT rates by country name. Case-insensitive partial match on country name or code.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	required	Country name to search for.
`limit`	integer	optional	(default: `10`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "search_vat_rates", "arguments": {"query": "renewable energy"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'query': 'renewable energy'},
            'name': 'search_vat_rates'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`get_highest_vat_rates`

Get countries with the highest standard VAT rates.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`limit`	integer	optional	(default: `10`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "get_highest_vat_rates", "arguments": {"limit": 10}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'limit': 10}, 'name': 'get_highest_vat_rates'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`get_lowest_vat_rates`

Get countries with the lowest standard VAT rates.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`limit`	integer	optional	(default: `10`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "get_lowest_vat_rates", "arguments": {"limit": 10}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'limit': 10}, 'name': 'get_lowest_vat_rates'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`report_feedback`

Report a bug, feature request, or general feedback for this data source. Use this when something doesn't work as expected, when you'd like a new feature, or when you have suggestions for improvement. Args: feedback: Describe the issue or suggestion. feedback_type: One of 'bug', 'feature_request', or 'general'.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`feedback`	string	required
`feedback_type`	string	optional	(default: `general`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "report_feedback", "arguments": {"feedback": "example"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/vat-rates/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'feedback': 'example'}, 'name': 'report_feedback'}},
)
print(resp.json())

Common Patterns

Search then retrieve
Use list_all_vat_rates to find items, then get_vat_rate to get full details. This two-step pattern is common for exploring data before drilling down.

Pagination
Several tools support limit, offset, or page parameters. Start with small limits during development, then increase for production queries.

FAQ

What data does VAT Rates (EU) provide?

EU and European VAT rates by country — standard, reduced, super-reduced, and parking rates. It exposes 6 tools: get_vat_rate, list_all_vat_rates, search_vat_rates, get_highest_vat_rates, get_lowest_vat_rates, report_feedback.

What do I need to get started?

A Gnist API key (free tier: 100 calls/day). Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup.

What format does the VAT Rates (EU) API return?

JSON, via either MCP protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0) or REST API.