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BR-S-1 Standard-rated lines require a matching VAT breakdown row

If any invoice line, document-level allowance or document-level charge is "Standard rated" (VAT category code "S"), the VAT breakdown (BG-23) must contain at least one row with category code "S".

Problem Description

ERROR

EN 16931 VAT category rule

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-S-01 EN 16931 VAT category rule

Reported in stage 2: EN 16931 rules.

Level error: the report recommends rejecting the invoice.

Stage 2 · What it checks

  • The core business terms are present (BR-01 to BR-65).
  • Totals add up and related fields agree (BR-CO); codes and decimals are valid (BR-CL, BR-DEC).
  • Each VAT category is consistent: S, Z, E, AE, K, G, O, L, M (BR-S, BR-Z, BR-AE, BR-IC …).

Example codes

Typical fix

Recalculate totals and VAT from the line data, and correct the VAT category in the source data.

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-S-01: EN 16931 VAT category rule, reported in the stage “EN 16931 rules”. 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

A standard-rated line without a matching VAT breakdown leaves the tax base unreported, and the invoice total VAT amount cannot be traced to a category. The error typically occurs when a document level charge such as shipping gets category "S" but the software builds breakdown rows only from the invoice lines, or when a line category is changed manually after the VAT breakdown was generated.

Solution

Add a VAT breakdown row (UBL: cac:TaxTotal/cac:TaxSubtotal; CII: ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:ApplicableTradeTax) with BT-118 = "S" for each rate used (BT-119), with the matching taxable amount and VAT amount.

Quick actions

Valid Examples

  • Line BT-151 = "S" plus VAT breakdown row BT-118 = "S", BT-119 = 19
  • Document allowance BT-95 = "S" plus matching VAT breakdown row

Invalid Examples

  • Line uses BT-151 = "S" but the VAT breakdown only contains "Z" rows
  • Document charge BT-102 = "S" with no "S" row in the VAT breakdown

Code Examples

Valid XML
<cac:TaxTotal>
  <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">19.00</cbc:TaxAmount>
  <cac:TaxSubtotal>
    <cbc:TaxableAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:TaxableAmount>
    <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">19.00</cbc:TaxAmount>
    <cac:TaxCategory>
      <cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID>
      <cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent>
      <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
    </cac:TaxCategory>
  </cac:TaxSubtotal>
</cac:TaxTotal>
<cac:InvoiceLine>
  <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
  <cac:Item>
    <cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
      <cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID>
      <cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent>
      <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
    </cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
  </cac:Item>
</cac:InvoiceLine>
Invalid XML
<cac:TaxTotal>
  <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">0.00</cbc:TaxAmount>
  <cac:TaxSubtotal>
    <cbc:TaxableAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:TaxableAmount>
    <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">0.00</cbc:TaxAmount>
    <cac:TaxCategory>
      <cbc:ID>Z</cbc:ID>
      <cbc:Percent>0</cbc:Percent>
      <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
    </cac:TaxCategory>
  </cac:TaxSubtotal>
</cac:TaxTotal>
<cac:InvoiceLine>
  <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">100.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
  <cac:Item>
    <cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
      <cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID>
      <cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent>
      <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
    </cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
  </cac:Item>
</cac:InvoiceLine>

Affected Fields

Validation Tools