errorEN 16931

BR-56:Each Seller tax representative party (BG-11) shall have a Seller tax...

Invoice line allowance must have either reason code or text explanation.

Severity
Fatal
Rule set
EN 16931
Country
All EU
Fix type
BLOCKED

Engine Classification

Financial or legal field · Modification blocked by policy

Reason: Allowance/charge reasons affect accounting treatment and tax reporting. The reason must accurately reflect the business purpose.

What is BR-56?

BR-56 is a fatal validation rule defined in the EN 16931 specification. It validates the AllowanceCharge element under InvoiceLine in the UBL invoice XML.

When this rule fires, the invoice is non-compliant and will be rejected by Peppol access points and national validation services. The sending system receives a rejection response and the invoice does not reach the buyer.

Target path: XPath: //cac:InvoiceLine/cac:AllowanceCharge[cbc:ChargeIndicator=false]

This error requires manual correction — financial fields are protected by policy.Test This Error ↓

Why This Error Matters

Invoice rejected. Tax representatives must be properly identified with their VAT number for tax authority compliance.

BR-56 is a hard failure. Invoices that trigger this rule are rejected at the access point and never reach the recipient. In Peppol networks, this means your sending system receives an MLR (Message Level Response) with a rejection status. The invoice must be corrected and re-sent, adding delay to your payment cycle.

Validator Behavior

  • ·Causes invoice rejection
  • ·Error returned: BR-56
  • ·Specification: EN 16931

How to Fix It

1.

Find line allowance

Locate AllowanceCharge with ChargeIndicator=false

2.

Add reason code

Use UNCL5189 code like 95 (discount)

3.

Or add text

Add AllowanceChargeReason with explanation

Before / After

Failing XML
<Invoice>
  <!-- cac:TaxRepresentativeParty is missing -->
</Invoice>
Corrected XML
<Invoice>
  <cac:TaxRepresentativeParty>valid-value</cac:TaxRepresentativeParty>
</Invoice>

Technical Reference

XPathXPath: //cac:InvoiceLine/cac:AllowanceCharge[cbc:ChargeIndicator=false]
SpecEN 16931
StrategyBLOCKED: This is a legal VAT identifier. We cannot generate or guess VAT numbers - they are registered with tax authorities. Must come from the tax representative's official registration.

Common Causes

  • ·Tax representative party without VAT identifier
  • ·TaxRepresentativeParty missing PartyTaxScheme/CompanyID
  • ·Fiscal rep configured without VAT number
  • ·Template missing rep VAT identifier field
  • ·VAT ID stored separately from representative record

Seeing this in production? The API handles BR-56 automatically. See the fix response →

Frequently Asked Questions

Invoice line allowance must have either reason code or text explanation.

Add AllowanceChargeReasonCode or AllowanceChargeReason to line allowances. You can also use Invoice Navigator's automatic Fixer tool to correct this instantly.

Yes, BR-56 is a critical error that will cause invoice rejection. It must be fixed before submission to ensure your invoice is accepted by the recipient's system.

Many instances of BR-56 can be automatically corrected using Invoice Navigator's Fixer tool. Upload your invoice and the tool will identify and fix common issues, including line allowance must have reason.

See Also

EN 16931 Validator

Check your invoice now

Related Errors

BR-55

Prepayment should reference prepayment invoice

BR-57

Each Deliver to address (BG-15) shall contain a Deliver to country code (BT-80)

Last updated: 27 February 2026

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