# BR-O-05

> An Invoice line (BG-25) where the VAT category code (BT-151) is "Not subject to VAT" shall not contain an Invoiced item VAT rate (BT-152).

Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5

Canonical: https://einvoicecheck.eu/rules/br-o-05

## Official rule text

An Invoice line (BG-25) where the VAT category code (BT-151) is "Not subject to VAT" shall not contain an Invoiced item VAT rate (BT-152).

## Why did my invoice fail BR-O-05?

An invoice line (BG-25) with VAT category 'O' (Not subject to VAT) must not carry an Invoiced item VAT rate (BT-152). Because the supply is outside the scope of VAT there is no applicable percentage, so specifying any rate (even 0) is invalid.

## Common causes

- The line emits cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory/cbc:Percent (e.g. 0) alongside category 'O'.
- A default rate of 0.00 is written for all categories, including 'O'.
- Category 'O' was used where 'Z' (Zero-rated, which requires a 0 rate) was intended.
- Mapping logic always populates Percent from a tax table row.

## How do I fix it?

```
Omit the Percent element for category O lines: <cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory><cbc:ID>O</cbc:ID><cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme></cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory> (no cbc:Percent).
```