BR-AE-04
EN 16931-1 layer: en16931
Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5
What does BR-AE-04 mean? An Invoice that contains a Document level charge (BG-21) where the Document level charge VAT category code (BT-102) is "Reverse charge" shall contain the Seller VAT Identifier (BT-31), the Seller tax registration identifier (BT-32) and/or the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) and the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48) and/or the Buyer legal registration identifier (BT-47).
Why did my invoice fail BR-AE-04?
When a document-level charge (BG-21) is categorized as 'Reverse charge' (BT-102 = AE), the invoice must include the seller's tax identity — Seller VAT identifier (BT-31), Seller tax registration identifier (BT-32) and/or tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) — and the buyer's tax identity — Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48) and/or Buyer legal registration identifier (BT-47). These identifiers are mandatory because the buyer becomes liable for accounting the VAT.
Official rule text
An Invoice that contains a Document level charge (BG-21) where the Document level charge VAT category code (BT-102) is "Reverse charge" shall contain the Seller VAT Identifier (BT-31), the Seller tax registration identifier (BT-32) and/or the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) and the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48) and/or the Buyer legal registration identifier (BT-47).
Common causes
- A reverse-charge document-level charge exists but the buyer VAT identifier (BT-48) or legal registration (BT-47) is missing.
- The seller VAT/tax registration identifier (BT-31/BT-32/BT-63) is not populated.
- The AE category was set on a charge without checking that both parties' tax identifiers are provided.
How do I fix it?
Populate seller VAT ID (BT-31) under AccountingSupplierParty PartyTaxScheme and buyer VAT ID (BT-48) under AccountingCustomerParty PartyTaxScheme, both with <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>.
Related rules
BR-AE-01 · BR-AE-02 · BR-AE-03 · BR-AE-05 · BR-AE-06 · BR-AE-07 · BR-AE-08 · BR-AE-09
Paste it into the live demo, or call POST /v1/validate. See the quickstart.