Reference
Markdown exportBR-DE-15 Buyer reference must be provided
Under § 4 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 of the German E-Rechnungsverordnung (E-Rech-V) and the core XRechnung standard, every electronic invoice submitted to a German public sector contracting entity MUST include a valid buyer reference (BT-10). For public sector buyers in Germany (federal ministries, federal states/Bundesländer, and municipalities), the buyer reference takes the form of a standardized routing code known as the Leitweg-ID (e.g. "04011000-12345-03" or "991-12345-73"). Public invoice receipt platforms, such as OZG-RE (direct federal administration, more than 170 indirect federal bodies and several Länder) and other state or municipal portals, use the Leitweg-ID to automatically route incoming invoices to the specific approval workflow, cost center, and budget officer.
Problem Description
ERROR
German XRechnung rule (KoSIT, BR-DE) · XRechnung 3.0
Interactive pipeline
Where BR-DE-15 is checked
Click a stage to see what it checks, or type a rule ID to light up the stage that reports it.
BR-DE-15 XRechnung rule (Germany)
Reported in stage 3: National rules (CIUS).
Level error: the report recommends rejecting the invoice.
Stage 3 · What it checks
National rules (CIUS)
- The specification identifier in BT-24 selects the rule set, for example XRechnung 3.0 or Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.
- XRechnung adds the German BR-DE rules: buyer reference (BT-10), seller contact, payment instructions.
- Peppol adds PEPPOL-EN16931 and country rules. XRechnung applies some PEPPOL-EN16931 rules too.
Example codes
Typical fix
Fill the fields the rule set requires in your master data, such as the Leitweg-ID in BT-10 or the seller contact.
Context and Significance
Without a valid BT-10 Leitweg-ID, public invoice receipt platforms such as OZG-RE (direct federal administration, more than 170 indirect federal bodies and several Länder) and other state or municipal portals reject the invoice immediately at the portal boundary, before any manual review can take place.
Solution
Obtain the official Leitweg-ID or buyer reference code from your client’s procurement order, tender documentation, or contract. In your ERP software (such as SAP SD, DATEV, or Dynamics 365), maintain this code in the customer order reference or buyer reference field. In UBL 2.1 syntax, populate <cbc:BuyerReference> directly under the root <Invoice> element. In UN/CEFACT CII syntax, populate <ram:BuyerReference> under <rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice><rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction><ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement>.
Quick actions
Valid Examples
- BT-10 = "04011000-12345-03" (Valid German state authority Leitweg-ID with 2-digit check digit)
- BT-10 = "991-12345-73" (Valid federal agency Leitweg-ID)
Invalid Examples
- Invoice header completely omits the cbc:BuyerReference / ram:BuyerReference element
- Buyer reference left as empty string or populated with placeholder text when billing public authorities
Code Examples
<cbc:BuyerReference>04011000-12345-03</cbc:BuyerReference><cbc:ID>RE-2026-001</cbc:ID>
<cbc:IssueDate>2026-01-15</cbc:IssueDate>