# asiaref VAT Rate Lookup

> asiaref VAT Rate Lookup is a paid API for AI agents from asiaref.dev, paid per call via x402, $0.02/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-14).

Returns the current VAT (value-added tax) rate for a specified Asian country, including effective date, source, and optional rate components.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://asiaref.dev/v1/answers/vat
- Price: $0.02/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-14
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/asiaref-vat-rate-lookup-cd99271a
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_4-Qc4ztscqZF0Eo8PrYBb

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability asiaref-vat-rate-lookup-cd99271a -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: What's the current VAT rate in Japan? I need the official rate, when it took effect, and where the data comes from.

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need authoritative, sourced VAT/GST rates for a specific Asian country in a lightweight single-call lookup. Prefer this over general web search when you need structured, machine-readable data with provenance (source URL) and freshness signals (stale flag, last_confirmed). Best for e-commerce tax compliance, invoice generation, pricing engines, or financial reporting involving Asian markets.

## Known failure modes

- Unsupported country code (not in [bd,id,in,jp,kr,my,ph,sg,th,vn]) — likely 400 or 404 error
- Stale flag set to true if the data has not been refreshed within its expected update cycle
- Payment not provided or rejected — 402 Payment Required
- Missing required path parameters (country or series) — validation error
- Network timeout or service unavailability — 5xx error

## How this service works

VAT breakdown for an amount: net/tax/gross incl. statutory levy components

## Output

Returns a JSON object with the country code, series name ('vat'), the current VAT rate value, effective date, last confirmed date, a source object (name and URL), a stale boolean indicating if data is past its expected update cycle, optional unit string, optional notes, and optional components array breaking down composite rates into named statutory parts.

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/asiaref-vat-rate-lookup-cd99271a/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from asiaref.dev](https://www.zero.xyz/host/asiaref.dev/llms.txt)