BR-CO-23:Invoice Line Allowance Reason Required
Each Invoice line allowance (BG-27) shall contain an Invoice line allowance reason (BT-139) or an Invoice line allowance reason code (BT-140), or both.
Engine Classification
Add default line allowance reason code 95 (discount) when both reason text and code are missing
Confidence: 85% · Applied automatically in pipeline
What is BR-CO-23?
BR-CO-23 is a fatal validation rule defined in the EN 16931 specification. It validates the AllowanceChargeReasonCode element under AllowanceCharge 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: //cac:InvoiceLine/cac:AllowanceCharge[cbc:ChargeIndicator='false' and not(cbc:AllowanceChargeReason) and not(cbc:AllowanceChargeReasonCode)]/cbc:AllowanceChargeReasonCode
Why This Error Matters
Invoice rejected. Line-level discounts must be explained for reconciliation and audit trail purposes.
BR-CO-23 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.
Invoice Navigator can automatically correct this error in your pipeline. The fix is applied with full audit evidence, so your compliance trail remains intact.
Validator Behavior
- ·Causes invoice rejection
- ·Error returned: BR-CO-23
- ·Specification: EN 16931
How to Fix It
Locate the line allowance
Find the InvoiceLine/AllowanceCharge element with ChargeIndicator=false that is missing a reason
Add reason code
Add AllowanceChargeReasonCode with a valid UNCL 5189 code (e.g., 95=Discount, 100=Special agreement)
Optionally add reason text
Add AllowanceChargeReason with a description like 'Discount' or 'Volume rebate'
Before / After
<cac:InvoiceLine> <cac:AllowanceCharge>INVALID_CODE</cac:AllowanceCharge> </cac:InvoiceLine>
<cac:InvoiceLine> <cac:AllowanceCharge>VALID_CODE</cac:AllowanceCharge> </cac:InvoiceLine>
Technical Reference
//cac:InvoiceLine/cac:AllowanceCharge[cbc:ChargeIndicator='false' and not(cbc:AllowanceChargeReason) and not(cbc:AllowanceChargeReasonCode)]/cbc:AllowanceChargeReasonCodeCommon Causes
- ·Line allowance has no reason text or code
- ·Line AllowanceCharge missing both reason fields
- ·Line discount added without explanation
- ·Template missing line allowance reason fields
- ·Generic line discount without categorization
Seeing this in production? The API handles BR-CO-23 automatically. See the fix response →
Frequently Asked Questions
BR-CO-23 occurs when an invoice line has an allowance (discount) in BG-27 but neither the reason text (BT-139) nor reason code (BT-140) is provided. EN16931 requires at least one of these fields.
Add either an AllowanceChargeReasonCode (BT-140) like 95 for Discount, or an AllowanceChargeReason (BT-139) text description, or both. Invoice Navigator can auto-fix this by adding the default code 95.
Yes, BR-CO-23 is an error that will cause invoice rejection. EN16931 requires every line allowance to have either a reason code or reason text to explain the discount.
Yes. Invoice Navigator can automatically add the default reason code 95 (Discount) to line allowances missing a reason. This is a safe, non-financial fix that simply adds explanatory metadata.
See Also
Related Errors
Last updated: 27 February 2026
Handle BR-CO-23 Automatically in Your Pipeline
The compliance engine auto-remediates this error with controlled safety policies and evidence pack generation.