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BR-S-06: VAT rate of document level allowance with category S is not greater than zero

Official message

[BR-S-06] In a Document level allowance (BG-20) where the Document level allowance VAT category code (BT-95) is "Standard rated" the Document level allowance VAT rate (BT-96) shall be greater than zero.

EN 16931 (CII) · Error · Message language: English · Version: xrechnung-3.0.2-validator-configuration-2026-08-31

[BR-S-06] In a Document level allowance (BG-20) where the Document level allowance VAT category code (BT-95) is "Standard rated" the Document level allowance VAT rate (BT-96) shall be greater than zero.

EN 16931 (UBL) · Error · Message language: English · Version: xrechnung-3.0.2-validator-configuration-2026-08-31

[BR-S-06] In a Document level allowance (BG-20) where the Document level allowance VAT category code (BT-95) is "Standard rated" the Document level allowance VAT rate (BT-96) shall be greater than zero.

Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 · Error · Message language: English · Version: Factur-X 1.08 / ZUGFeRD 2.4
Severity
Error The invoice is invalid and may be rejected by the recipient.
Applies to
EN 16931 (CII), EN 16931 (UBL), Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931
Affected fields
BG-20, BT-95, BT-96

What does this mean?

For a document level allowance (BG-20) with VAT category (BT-95) S (Standard rated, VAT rate above zero) the document level allowance VAT rate (BT-96) must be greater than zero. The rate is 0, negative or missing.

Typical causes

The rate was not stated.
Rate 0 was entered for the item but category S was kept; other categories are intended for rate 0, e.g. Z, E, AE, K or G.

How to fix the error

State a rate greater than zero for every document level allowance of category S.
If the rate does not match the category, correct the category and adjust the VAT breakdown (BG-23).
CII: ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge (ChargeIndicator false)/ram:CategoryTradeTax/ram:RateApplicablePercent, UBL: cac:AllowanceCharge (cbc:ChargeIndicator false)/cac:TaxCategory/cbc:Percent.

In E-Rechnungsfreund

In the invoice form ("Experte" view), section "Zu-/Abschläge auf Dokumentenebene (BG-20/BG-21)" (document level allowances and charges), for every entry of type "Abschlag (BG-20)" (allowance) with "St-Kat." (VAT category) S enter a rate greater than zero in the field "St-Satz %" (VAT rate). An empty field is not written to the XML for the allowance/charge.

Example

Wrong

<ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge>
  <ram:ChargeIndicator>
    <udt:Indicator>false</udt:Indicator>
  </ram:ChargeIndicator>
  <ram:ActualAmount>50.00</ram:ActualAmount>
  <ram:Reason>Discount</ram:Reason>
  <ram:CategoryTradeTax>
    <ram:TypeCode>VAT</ram:TypeCode>
    <ram:CategoryCode>S</ram:CategoryCode>
    <ram:RateApplicablePercent>0</ram:RateApplicablePercent>
  </ram:CategoryTradeTax>
</ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge>

Correct

<ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge>
  <ram:ChargeIndicator>
    <udt:Indicator>false</udt:Indicator>
  </ram:ChargeIndicator>
  <ram:ActualAmount>50.00</ram:ActualAmount>
  <ram:Reason>Discount</ram:Reason>
  <ram:CategoryTradeTax>
    <ram:TypeCode>VAT</ram:TypeCode>
    <ram:CategoryCode>S</ram:CategoryCode>
    <ram:RateApplicablePercent>19.00</ram:RateApplicablePercent>
  </ram:CategoryTradeTax>
</ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge>
For developers: test expression per syntax

EN 16931 (CII) (CII)

Context: //ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge[ram:ChargeIndicator/udt:Indicator=false()]/ram:CategoryTradeTax[ram:CategoryCode = 'S'][upper-case(ram:TypeCode) = 'VAT']

ram:RateApplicablePercent > 0

EN 16931 (UBL) (UBL)

Context: cac:AllowanceCharge[cbc:ChargeIndicator=false()]/cac:TaxCategory[normalize-space(cbc:ID)='S'][cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']

(cbc:Percent) > 0

Factur-X / ZUGFeRD EN 16931 (CII)

Technical ID in the source: FX-SCH-A-000096

Context: //ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge[ram:ChargeIndicator/udt:Indicator='false']/ram:CategoryTradeTax[ram:CategoryCode = 'S']

ram:RateApplicablePercent > 0

Related validation rules

  • BR-S-01: VAT breakdown for category S is missing
  • BR-S-02: Seller VAT or tax registration identifier missing for invoice line with category S
  • BR-S-03: Seller VAT or tax registration identifier missing for document level allowance with category S
  • BR-S-04: Seller VAT or tax registration identifier missing for document level charge with category S
  • BR-S-05: VAT rate of invoice line with category S is not greater than zero
  • BR-S-07: VAT rate of document level charge with category S is not greater than zero

Last updated:
Explanation of the validation rule, not legal or tax advice.