# BR-E-03

> An Invoice that contains a Document level allowance (BG-20) where the Document level allowance VAT category code (BT-95) 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).

Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5

Canonical: https://einvoicecheck.eu/rules/br-e-03

## Official rule text

An Invoice that contains a Document level allowance (BG-20) where the Document level allowance VAT category code (BT-95) 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-03?

When a document-level allowance (BG-20) is coded as "Exempt from VAT" (BT-95 = E), the seller must supply at least one of the Seller VAT identifier (BT-31), Seller tax registration identifier (BT-32), or Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63). The exempt allowance affects the VAT breakdown, so a tax-registered seller identity is required to justify the exemption.

## Common causes

- Document-level allowance uses category E but no seller VAT id is present
- Seller not VAT-registered and BT-32 tax registration id omitted
- Tax representative referenced without their VAT identifier (BT-63)

## How do I fix it?

```
Provide a seller VAT id under PartyTaxScheme (BT-31): <cac:PartyTaxScheme><cbc:CompanyID>DE123456789</cbc:CompanyID><cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme></cac:PartyTaxScheme>
```