# BR-E-01

> An Invoice that contains an Invoice line (BG-25), a Document level allowance (BG-20) or a Document level charge (BG-21) where the VAT category code (BT-151, BT-95 or BT-102) is "Exempt from VAT" shall contain exactly one VAT breakdown (BG-23) with the VAT category code (BT-118) equal to "Exempt from VAT".

Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5

Canonical: https://einvoicecheck.eu/rules/br-e-01

## Official rule text

An Invoice that contains an Invoice line (BG-25), a Document level allowance (BG-20) or a Document level charge (BG-21) where the VAT category code (BT-151, BT-95 or BT-102) is "Exempt from VAT" shall contain exactly one VAT breakdown (BG-23) with the VAT category code (BT-118) equal to "Exempt from VAT".

## Why did my invoice fail BR-E-01?

If any invoice line (BG-25), document-level allowance (BG-20) or document-level charge (BG-21) uses VAT category code "Exempt from VAT" (code E) in BT-151/BT-95/BT-102, then the invoice must contain exactly one VAT breakdown (BG-23) whose category code (BT-118) is also "E". This ensures every exempt element is summarized in a single, matching VAT subtotal so the VAT reporting is complete and consistent.

## Common causes

- Emitting exempt lines but generating no TaxSubtotal with category code E
- Producing two separate E breakdowns (e.g. different rates) instead of exactly one
- Using a different category code on the breakdown than on the exempt lines

## How do I fix it?

```
Add one VAT breakdown for the exempt category: <cac:TaxSubtotal><cbc:TaxableAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:TaxableAmount><cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">0.00</cbc:TaxAmount><cac:TaxCategory><cbc:ID>E</cbc:ID><cbc:Percent>0</cbc:Percent><cbc:TaxExemptionReason>Exempt</cbc:TaxExemptionReason><cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme></cac:TaxCategory></cac:TaxSubtotal>
```