PEPPOL-EN16931-R061: Mandate reference (BT-89) missing for direct debit

What does this mean?

Mandate reference MUST be provided for direct debit: if the payment means type code (BT-81) is a direct debit, i.e. 49 (direct debit) or 59 (SEPA direct debit), the mandate reference identifier (BT-89) must be provided. It is missing.
The rule originates from Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 and is applied in the XRechnung validation. CII: ram:SpecifiedTradePaymentTerms/ram:DirectDebitMandateID, UBL: cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PaymentMandate/cbc:ID.

Typical causes

The mandate reference was only mentioned in the remittance information or in the payment terms.
A direct debit was selected as payment means by mistake instead of a credit transfer (e.g. 58).

How to fix the error

State the mandate reference of the direct debit mandate in BT-89. The direct debit group (BG-19) also contains the bank assigned creditor identifier (BT-90) and the debited account identifier (BT-91).
If no direct debit is intended, state the applicable payment means in BT-81.
Generate and validate the invoice again.

In E-Rechnungsfreund

In the invoice form, "Experte" view, section "Zahlungsinformationen / SEPA" (payment information), fill in the field "Mandatsreferenz SEPA (BT-89)" (mandate reference). If no direct debit is meant, choose another "Zahlungscode (BT-81)" (payment means code) in section "Zahlungsmittel (BG-16)" (payment means).

Example

Wrong

<ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementPaymentMeans>
  <ram:TypeCode>59</ram:TypeCode>
  ...
</ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementPaymentMeans>
...
<ram:SpecifiedTradePaymentTerms>
  <ram:DueDateDateTime>
    <udt:DateTimeString format="102">20260215</udt:DateTimeString>
  </ram:DueDateDateTime>
</ram:SpecifiedTradePaymentTerms>

Correct

<ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementPaymentMeans>
  <ram:TypeCode>59</ram:TypeCode>
  ...
</ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementPaymentMeans>
...
<ram:SpecifiedTradePaymentTerms>
  <ram:DueDateDateTime>
    <udt:DateTimeString format="102">20260215</udt:DateTimeString>
  </ram:DueDateDateTime>
  <ram:DirectDebitMandateID>MANDATE-2026-001</ram:DirectDebitMandateID>
</ram:SpecifiedTradePaymentTerms>

Related validation rules

• PEPPOL-EN16931-R001: Business process type (BT-23) is missing
• PEPPOL-EN16931-R005: VAT accounting currency (BT-6) equals the invoice currency (BT-5)
• PEPPOL-EN16931-R008: The invoice contains empty elements
• PEPPOL-EN16931-R010: Buyer electronic address (BT-49) is missing
• PEPPOL-EN16931-R020: Seller electronic address (BT-34) is missing
• PEPPOL-EN16931-R040: Allowance or charge amount does not match base amount and percentage