BR-IC-04
EN 16931-1 layer: en16931
Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5
What does BR-IC-04 mean? An Invoice that contains a Document level charge (BG-21) where the Document level charge VAT category code (BT-102) is "Intra-community supply" shall contain the Seller VAT Identifier (BT-31) or the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) and the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48).
Why did my invoice fail BR-IC-04?
When a document level charge (BG-21) is coded VAT category "K" (Intra-community supply) via BT-102, the invoice must contain the Seller VAT identifier (BT-31) — or the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) — and the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48). Charges taxed as intra-community carry the same requirement that both trading parties be VAT-registered.
Official rule text
An Invoice that contains a Document level charge (BG-21) where the Document level charge VAT category code (BT-102) is "Intra-community supply" shall contain the Seller VAT Identifier (BT-31) or the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) and the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48).
Common causes
- Document level charge assigned category K but the buyer VAT identifier (BT-48) is missing.
- No seller VAT ID (BT-31) and no tax representative VAT ID (BT-63) present.
- Charge inherits category K from the invoice default without validating both VAT IDs exist.
- VAT identifiers stored outside PartyTaxScheme so they are not detected as BT-31/BT-48.
How do I fix it?
Add the required VAT identifiers under both parties' <cac:PartyTaxScheme><cbc:CompanyID>…</cbc:CompanyID><cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme></cac:PartyTaxScheme>, or recode the charge's VAT category if not truly intra-community.
Related rules
BR-IC-01 · BR-IC-02 · BR-IC-03 · BR-IC-05 · BR-IC-06 · BR-IC-07 · BR-IC-08 · BR-IC-09
Paste it into the live demo, or call POST /v1/validate. See the quickstart.