EN 16931 rules explained
Every EN 16931 business rule FactureJuste checks, with a plain-language explanation and the fix to apply.
Mandatory fields
The information every EN 16931 invoice must carry — identifiers, dates, parties, base amounts.
- BR-01Every e-invoice must declare which technical specification it follows — this is the "Specification…
- BR-02Every invoice must carry an Invoice number (BT-1) — the identifier that names this specific invoice…
- BR-03Every invoice must state its Invoice issue date (BT-2) — the date the invoice was issued, distinct…
- BR-04Every invoice must carry an Invoice type code (BT-3) — a coded value (e.g. 380 for a commercial inv…
- BR-05Every invoice must declare an Invoice currency code (BT-5) — the currency all monetary amounts on t…
- BR-06Every invoice must state the Seller name (BT-27) — the registered or trading name of the party issu…
- BR-07Every invoice must state the Buyer name (BT-44) — the registered or trading name of the party the i…
- BR-08Every invoice must include a Seller postal address (BG-5) — a postal address block for the party is…
- BR-09Within the Seller postal address (BG-5), a Seller country code (BT-40) is required — a two-letter I…
- BR-10Every invoice must include a Buyer postal address (BG-8) — a postal address block for the party the…
- BR-11Within the Buyer postal address (BG-8), a Buyer country code (BT-55) is required — a two-letter ISO…
- BR-12Every invoice must state the Sum of Invoice line net amount (BT-106) — a header-level total equal t…
- BR-16Every invoice must contain at least one Invoice line (BG-25) — a line item describing what is being…
Arithmetic consistency
Totals, subtotals, and amounts due must add up correctly against each other — no rounding tolerance.
- BR-CO-10The invoice's line items must add up. This rule checks that the total net amount shown for all invo…
- BR-CO-11If the invoice has document-level allowances (discounts applied to the whole invoice, not a specifi…
- BR-CO-12If the invoice has document-level charges (fees applied to the whole invoice, not a specific line,…
- BR-CO-13The Invoice total amount without VAT (BT-109) must equal the line-net-amount total already checked…
- BR-CO-14The Invoice total VAT amount (BT-110) must equal the sum of the VAT category tax amounts (BT-117) a…
- BR-CO-15The Invoice total amount with VAT (BT-112) must equal the total without VAT from BR-CO-13 (BT-109)…
- BR-CO-16The Amount due for payment (BT-115) — the final figure the buyer actually needs to pay — must equal…
- BR-CO-17Within each VAT breakdown group (BG-23), the VAT category tax amount (BT-117) must equal the VAT ca…
- BR-CO-18Every invoice must contain at least one VAT breakdown group (BG-23) — the block that reports a taxa…
- BR-CO-26For the buyer's software to automatically recognize who the seller is (e.g. for accounting or payme…
VAT categories
The handling specific to each VAT regime — standard rate, zero rate, exempt, reverse charge.
- BR-S-05Any invoice line (or document-level allowance/charge) tagged with VAT category code "S" (Standard r…
- BR-S-09This is the standard-rated ("S") instance of the general per-category calculation rule BR-CO-17: fo…
- BR-Z-05Any invoice line tagged with VAT category code "Z" (Zero rated) must have a VAT rate of exactly 0.…
- BR-Z-09For a VAT breakdown group whose category code is "Z" (Zero rated), the VAT category tax amount (BT-…
- BR-E-02If any invoice line is tagged with VAT category code "E" (Exempt from VAT), the invoice must includ…
- BR-E-10For a VAT breakdown group whose category code is "E" (Exempt from VAT), either a VAT exemption reas…
- BR-AE-02If any invoice line is tagged with VAT category code "AE" (VAT reverse charge / autoliquidation), t…
- BR-AE-10For a VAT breakdown group whose category code is "AE" (VAT reverse charge), either a VAT exemption…
Identifiers and codes
The codes, identifiers, and standalone value constraints that must match a specific reference list or valid range — identifier schemes, document types, units of measure, payment accounts, non-negative prices.
- BR-27An invoice line's item net price (BT-146) must not be negative. This rule fires when a line's unit…
- BR-53When an invoice declares a separate VAT accounting currency (BT-6, TaxCurrencyCode) — used when the…
- BR-64When an invoice line identifies its item using a standard identifier (BT-157, e.g. a GTIN/EAN barco…
- BR-CL-01The document type code (BT-3, e.g. InvoiceTypeCode or CreditNoteTypeCode) must be one of the specif…
- BR-CL-11A party's registration identifier (e.g. the seller's or buyer's company registration number) must s…
- BR-CL-23Every invoice line quantity must state its unit of measure (BT-130, unitCode) using a code from the…
- CII-DT-018A CII invoice's additional referenced document (used for attachments and supporting references) can…
- CII-SR-046When a CII invoice element carries a GlobalID (a standard identifier such as a GTIN), it must also…
- CII-SR-470For a credit transfer or direct debit payment (payment means code 30 or 58), the invoice must state…
- UBL-SR-46A UBL invoice's payment means can carry at most one free-text label (the @name attribute on Payment…
Advisory warnings
These rules flag a best practice that wasn't followed — they never affect the invoice's compliance.
- UBL-CR-528Advisory — this does not affect your compliance result. A reference to an order line was placed on…
- UBL-CR-550Advisory — this does not affect your compliance result. Delivery information was placed on an invoi…
- UBL-CR-561Advisory — this does not affect your compliance result. A VAT total (TaxTotal) was placed on an inv…