`BR-O-04`

An Invoice that contains a Document level charge (BG-21) where the Document level charge VAT category code (BT-102) is "Not subject to VAT" shall not contain the Seller VAT identifier (BT-31), the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) or the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48).

Official rule text

[BR-O-04]-An Invoice that contains a Document level charge (BG-21) where the Document level charge VAT category code (BT-102) is "Not subject to VAT" shall not contain the Seller VAT identifier (BT-31), the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) or the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48).

Where the rule applies

Rule set	Document type	Severity
XRechnung with the CEN EN 16931 rules (3.0.2) KoSIT, CEN	EN16931 XRechnung (UBL Invoice), EN16931 XRechnung Extension (UBL Invoice), EN16931 XRechnung CVD (UBL Invoice), EN16931 XRechnung (UBL CreditNote), EN16931 XRechnung CVD (UBL CreditNote), EN16931 XRechnung (CII), EN16931 XRechnung Extension (CII), EN16931 XRechnung CVD (CII), EN16931 (UBL Invoice), EN16931 (UBL CreditNote), EN16931 (CII)	fatal
ZUGFeRD / Factur-X (2.5.2) FeRD, FNFE-MPE	Factur-X BASIC WL (CII), Factur-X BASIC (CII), Factur-X EN 16931 (CII)	error
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (3.0-2026.5) OpenPeppol	Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL Invoice), Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL CreditNote)	fatal
CIUS-RO (1.0.9) Romanian Ministry of Finance	CIUS-RO (UBL Invoice), CIUS-RO (UBL CreditNote), CIUS-RO (CII): EN 16931 only	fatal
HR-CIUS (eRačun) (1.0.4) Croatian Tax Administration	HR-CIUS (UBL Invoice), HR-CIUS (UBL CreditNote)	fatal

Fatal and error findings make the invoice invalid (valid: false); warnings and information do not.

Business terms concerned (EN 16931)

BG-21
BT-31
BT-48
BT-63
BT-102

Technical check

Syntax: UBL · CIUS-RO (1.0.9), HR-CIUS (eRačun) (1.0.4), Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (3.0-2026.5), XRechnung with the CEN EN 16931 rules (3.0.2)
Context: /ubl:Invoice | /cn:CreditNote
Test (must be true): (exists((/ubl:Invoice|/cn:CreditNote)/cac:AllowanceCharge[cbc:ChargeIndicator=true()]/cac:TaxCategory[normalize-space(cbc:ID) = 'O'][cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']) and (not(//cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyTaxScheme[cac:TaxScheme/(normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID)) = 'VAT')]/cbc:CompanyID) and not(//cac:TaxRepresentativeParty/cac:PartyTaxScheme[cac:TaxScheme/(normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID)) = 'VAT')]/cbc:CompanyID) and not(//cac:AccountingCustomerParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyTaxScheme[cac:TaxScheme/(normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID)) = 'VAT')]/cbc:CompanyID))) or…

Syntax: CII · CIUS-RO (1.0.9), XRechnung with the CEN EN 16931 rules (3.0.2)
Context: //ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge[ram:ChargeIndicator/udt:Indicator=true()]/ram:CategoryTradeTax[ram:CategoryCode = 'O'][upper-case(ram:TypeCode) = 'VAT']
Test (must be true): not(/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:SellerTradeParty/ram:SpecifiedTaxRegistration/ram:ID[@schemeID = 'VA']) and not (/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:SellerTaxRepresentativeTradeParty/ram:SpecifiedTaxRegistration/ram:ID[@schemeID = 'VA']) and not (//ram:BuyerTradeParty/ram:SpecifiedTaxRegistration/ram:ID[@schemeID = 'VA'])

Syntax: CII · ZUGFeRD / Factur-X (2.5.2)
Context: //ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge[ram:ChargeIndicator/udt:Indicator='true']/ram:CategoryTradeTax[ram:CategoryCode = 'O']
Test (must be true): not(/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:SellerTradeParty/ram:SpecifiedTaxRegistration/ram:ID[@schemeID = 'VA']) and not (/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:SellerTaxRepresentativeTradeParty/ram:SpecifiedTaxRegistration/ram:ID[@schemeID = 'VA']) and not (//ram:BuyerTradeParty/ram:SpecifiedTaxRegistration/ram:ID[@schemeID = 'VA'])

How the API reports this rule

Every finding of POST /v1/validate carries the rule id, severity, message, location (XPath) and rule set, and links this page (docUrl):

{
  "severity": "fatal",
  "ruleId": "BR-O-04",
  "message": "[BR-O-04]-An Invoice that contains a Document level charge (BG-21) where the Document level charge VAT category code (BT-102) is \"Not subject to VAT\" shall not contain the Seller VAT identifier (BT-31), the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) or the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48).",
  "xpath": "/…",
  "source": "schematron:xrechnung@3.0.2",
  "docUrl": "https://einvoice-api.eu/rules/br-o-04.html"
}

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Rule text and severity are taken unchanged from the official rule set; this page is generated from the API's configuration. Not legal advice.