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BR-DE-6 Seller contact telephone must be provided

Under the German XRechnung profile for electronic invoicing in public procurement, the seller contact telephone number (BT-42) is a mandatory field within the seller contact group (BG-6). Public authorities require direct telephone reachability to clarify urgent billing inquiries, invoice discrepancies, or delivery receipt confirmations without causing formal rejection and re-submission delays.

Problem Description

ERROR

German XRechnung rule (KoSIT, BR-DE) · XRechnung 3.0

Interactive pipeline

Click a stage to see what it checks, or type a rule ID to light up the stage that reports it.

Try:

BR-DE-6 XRechnung rule (Germany)

Reported in stage 3: National rules (CIUS).

Level error: the report recommends rejecting the invoice.

Stage 3 · What it checks

  • 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.

A validator checks an e-invoice in stages. First the file must be well-formed XML that matches the UBL or CII schema (XSD). Then the EN 16931 business rules run: BR core rules, BR-CO calculations, BR-CL code lists, BR-DEC decimals and VAT-category rules such as BR-S. Next come the national or network rules that BT-24 selects: BR-DE for XRechnung, PEPPOL-EN16931 for Peppol BIS Billing. The report lists every failed rule: one error means reject, warnings alone still mean accept. BR-DE-6: XRechnung rule (Germany), reported in the stage “National rules (CIUS)”. Rule sets: KoSIT validator 1.6.3 with the XRechnung configuration of 31 Aug 2026 (EN 16931 artefacts 1.3.16), Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.21.

Context and Significance

Missing telephone information in BG-6 causes immediate Schematron error BR-DE-6. German public sector verification gateways reject such invoices unconditionally.

Solution

In your ERP or accounting master data, specify a valid business telephone number with area code or international country code (+49 ...). In UBL 2.1 syntax, populate <cbc:Telephone> inside <cac:AccountingSupplierParty><cac:Party><cac:Contact>. In UN/CEFACT CII syntax, populate <ram:TelephoneUniversalCommunication><ram:CompleteNumber> inside <ram:SellerTradeParty><ram:DefinedTradeContact>. Note that per rule BR-DE-27, the value should contain at least three digits and not consist of dummy placeholders.

Quick actions

Validate XMLConvert invoice

Valid Examples

  • BT-42 = "+49 30 1234567"
  • BT-42 = "089 987654321"

Invalid Examples

  • Seller contact group (cac:Contact / ram:DefinedTradeContact) includes name and email but omits cbc:Telephone / ram:CompleteNumber
  • Telephone element populated with placeholder text such as "--" or "n/a"

Code Examples

Valid XML
<cac:Contact>
  <cbc:Name>Vertrieb / Kundenbetreuung</cbc:Name>
  <cbc:Telephone>+49 30 1234567</cbc:Telephone>
  <cbc:ElectronicMail>info@seller.de</cbc:ElectronicMail>
</cac:Contact>
Invalid XML
<cac:Contact>
  <cbc:Name>Vertrieb / Kundenbetreuung</cbc:Name>
  <cbc:ElectronicMail>info@seller.de</cbc:ElectronicMail>
</cac:Contact>

Affected Fields

BT-42 Seller contact telephone number
BG-6 Seller contact
BT-41 Seller contact point
BT-43 Seller contact email address

Validation Tools

Official KoSIT Validator

Run the official KoSIT validator with the XRechnung configuration to check EN 16931 and XRechnung rules.

Convert PDF to XRechnung

Find validation errors during conversion and review each correction.