Italian VAT Number Validator

A PHP-based application for validating Italian VAT numbers using Object-Oriented Programming principles. The system processes CSV files containing VAT numbers, validates them, attempts corrections, and stores results in a MySQL database.

Features

• CSV File Upload: Process multiple VAT numbers from uploaded CSV files
• Single VAT Validation: Test individual VAT numbers with detailed feedback
• Automatic Correction: Attempts to fix common formatting errors
• Database Storage: Stores all validation results with timestamps
• Three-State Results Display:
  • ✅ Acceptable VAT numbers
  • ⚠️ Corrected VAT numbers (with modification details)
  • ❌ Incorrect VAT numbers
• Responsive UI: Bootstrap-based interface for better user experience

Requirements

• XAMPP (Apache + MySQL + PHP)
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• MySQL 5.7 or higher
• Web browser

Installation

1. Clone or download the project to your XAMPP htdocs folder:

   C:\xampp\htdocs\QBind\
   

2. Start XAMPP:

   • Start Apache and MySQL services
   • Open phpMyAdmin (http://localhost/phpmyadmin)

3. Create Database:

   • Import the database/setup.sql file in phpMyAdmin, OR
   • Run the SQL commands manually:

   CREATE DATABASE qbind_vat;
   USE qbind_vat;
   
   CREATE TABLE vat_validations (
       id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
       original_vat VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
       cleaned_vat VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
       corrected_vat VARCHAR(20) NULL,
       status ENUM('acceptable', 'corrected', 'incorrect') NOT NULL,
       message TEXT NOT NULL,
       created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
   );

4. Configure Database Connection:

   • Edit config/database.php
   • Update credentials if needed (default: root/root for XAMPP)

5. Set Permissions:

   • Ensure the uploads/ directory is writable (will be created automatically)

Usage

CSV File Upload

1. Prepare a CSV file with VAT numbers in the first column
2. Navigate to the application: http://localhost/QBind/
3. Upload your CSV file using the "CSV File Upload" form
4. View results on the results page

Single VAT Validation

1. Use the "Validate String" form
2. Enter a single VAT number
3. Get immediate feedback with validation status

Validation Rules:

• Must start with "IT"
• Must be followed by exactly 11 digits
• Checksum validation using Italian VAT algorithm

Database Schema

vat_validations Table

• id: Primary key
• original_vat: Original input VAT number
• cleaned_vat: VAT number after basic cleaning
• corrected_vat: Corrected VAT number (if applicable)
• status: Validation status (acceptable/corrected/incorrect)
• message: Detailed validation message
• created_at: Timestamp of validation

Testing

Use the provided sample_vat_numbers.csv file to test the application:

vat_number
IT12345678901
IT98765432109
IT11111111111
98765432158
IT12345
123-hello