# BR-48

> Each VAT breakdown (BG-23) shall have a VAT category rate (BT-119), except if the Invoice is not subject to VAT.

Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5

Canonical: https://einvoicecheck.eu/rules/br-48

## Official rule text

Each VAT breakdown (BG-23) shall have a VAT category rate (BT-119), except if the Invoice is not subject to VAT.

## Why did my invoice fail BR-48?

Each VAT breakdown group (BG-23) must state a VAT category rate (BT-119) as a percentage, unless the invoice is genuinely not subject to VAT. The rate together with the taxable amount justifies the tax amount for that category; for zero-rated or exempt categories the rate is normally 0.

## Common causes

- cac:TaxCategory/cbc:Percent was omitted for a standard-rated (category S) breakdown.
- A zero-rated (Z) breakdown was written without <cbc:Percent>0</cbc:Percent>.
- The rate was placed on the line's TaxCategory but not on the document-level TaxSubtotal breakdown.

## How do I fix it?

```
In cac:TaxSubtotal/cac:TaxCategory add <cbc:Percent>21</cbc:Percent> (use 0 for zero-rated category Z; omit only for genuinely non-VAT invoices).
```