BR-CO-09
Validation message
The Seller VAT identifier (BT-31), the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) and the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48) shall have a prefix in accordance with ISO code ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 by which the country of issue may be identified. Nevertheless, Greece may use the prefix ‘EL’.
Explanation
A VAT ID always starts with the two-letter code of the country that issued it, in capitals: DE123456789, not 123456789 or de123456789. Greece uses EL, Northern Ireland XI. Under EN 16931 this applies to every VAT ID on the invoice: the seller's as well as the buyer's and the tax representative's.
How to fix
Ask the seller for a corrected invoice in which every VAT ID starts with its country prefix. If the buyer's VAT ID is affected, give the seller the complete number.
This field is required by §14 Abs. 4 Nr. 2 UStG. A missing or incorrect value may affect input VAT deduction (Vorsteuerabzug) for the recipient.
Applies to
- EN 16931 (UBL)
- EN 16931 (CII)