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BR-S-5 Standard-rated invoice line VAT rate must be greater than zero

In an invoice line (BG-25) where the Invoiced item VAT category code (BT-151) is "Standard rated" (S), the Invoiced item VAT rate (BT-152) must be greater than zero.

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-05 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-05: 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

Category S means that VAT is charged at the standard or a reduced rate, so a rate of zero or a missing rate contradicts the code. The error typically occurs when software exports an exempt, reverse-charge or out-of-scope line with the default code S and a rate of 0 %, or when the rate is not mapped from the item master data. Document level allowances and charges with category S are covered by BR-S-06 and BR-S-07.

Solution

Set the line VAT rate (BT-152; UBL: cac:Item/cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory/cbc:Percent; CII: ram:SpecifiedLineTradeSettlement/ram:ApplicableTradeTax/ram:RateApplicablePercent) to the applicable rate, for example 19 or 7 in Germany. If no VAT is due on the line, replace code S with the correct category (Z, E, AE, K, G or O).

Quick actions

Validate XMLConvert invoice

Valid Examples

  • BT-151 = "S", BT-152 = 19
  • BT-151 = "S", BT-152 = 7

Invalid Examples

  • BT-151 = "S", BT-152 = 0
  • BT-151 = "S", BT-152 absent

Code Examples

Valid XML
<cac:InvoiceLine>
  <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:InvoiceLine>
  <cac:Item>
    <cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
      <cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID>
      <cbc:Percent>0</cbc:Percent>
      <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
    </cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
  </cac:Item>
</cac:InvoiceLine>

Affected Fields

BT-151 Invoiced item VAT category code
BT-152 Invoiced item VAT rate

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.