BR-E-02
EN 16931-1 layer: en16931
Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5
What does BR-E-02 mean? An Invoice that contains an Invoice line (BG-25) where the Invoiced item VAT category code (BT-151) is "Exempt from VAT" 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).
Why did my invoice fail BR-E-02?
When an invoice line (BG-25) is coded as "Exempt from VAT" (BT-151 = E), the seller must be identifiable for VAT purposes via at least one of: Seller VAT identifier (BT-31), Seller tax registration identifier (BT-32), or Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63). Exemption is a VAT-relevant claim, so the tax authority needs a party registered for tax to substantiate it.
Official rule text
An Invoice that contains an Invoice line (BG-25) where the Invoiced item VAT category code (BT-151) is "Exempt from VAT" 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).
Common causes
- Seller has no PartyTaxScheme/CompanyID (VAT id) in the XML
- The seller is not VAT-registered and no BT-32 tax registration id is provided instead
- A tax representative is used but their VAT id (BT-63) is omitted
How do I fix it?
Add a seller VAT identifier: <cac:AccountingSupplierParty><cac:Party><cac:PartyTaxScheme><cbc:CompanyID>DE123456789</cbc:CompanyID><cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme></cac:PartyTaxScheme></cac:Party></cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
Related rules
BR-E-01 · BR-E-03 · BR-E-04 · BR-E-05 · BR-E-06 · BR-E-07 · BR-E-08 · BR-E-09
Paste it into the live demo, or call POST /v1/validate. See the quickstart.