BR-DE-14 — E-Invoice Validation Rule & Fix

Fixture ID: ratedO · XPath: /ubl:Invoice/cac:TaxTotal/cac:TaxSubtotal[1]/cac:TaxCategory/cbc:Percent

1. Why This Rule Triggers (Diagnostic Message)

XRechnung requires the element "VAT category rate" (BT-119) on every VAT breakdown group (BG-23), but the group for category O has none. Core EN 16931 excuses exactly one case from this — BR-48 allows a missing rate when the category is "O" (not subject to VAT) — and the German CIUS does not carry that exception forward. The practical consequence is that category O cannot be used in an XRechnung at all: BR-O-05 forbids a rate on the line, so no rate can reach the breakdown, and BR-DE-14 then rejects the document. Core EN 16931 validation passes; the German portal rejects.

2. How to Fix BR-DE-14

Choose a different profile ("en16931" or "peppol-bis-3") for a genuinely out-of-scope transaction, or re-examine the categorisation: a supply that is inside the scope of VAT but taxed at nothing is category "Z" (zero rated) with vatRate 0, and that is what most transactions labelled "no VAT" actually are. Category "E" (exempt) with an exemption reason is the other common correct answer.

3. Valid Code / Payload Example

"vatCategory": "Z", "vatRate": 0