BR-IC-01:Intra-community must be in breakdown
If any line uses VAT category K, breakdown must include K.
Engine Classification
Financial or legal field · Modification blocked by policy
What is BR-IC-01?
BR-IC-01 is a fatal validation rule defined in the EN 16931 specification. It validates the TaxCategory element under TaxTotal > TaxSubtotal 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: /Invoice/cac:TaxTotal/cac:TaxSubtotal/cac:TaxCategory[cbc:ID="K"]
Why This Error Matters
Invoice will be rejected. Intra-community supply (category IC) requires both seller and buyer VAT numbers for reverse charge mechanism. Missing elements prevent cross-border VAT compliance verification.
BR-IC-01 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-IC-01
- ·Specification: EN 16931
How to Fix It
Check for K lines
Any line with category K?
Add breakdown
Include TaxSubtotal for K
Before / After
<Invoice> <cac:InvoiceLine>999.99</cac:InvoiceLine> <!-- Does not match expected calculation --> </Invoice>
<Invoice> <cac:InvoiceLine>100.00</cac:InvoiceLine> <!-- Matches expected calculation --> </Invoice>
Technical Reference
XPath: /Invoice/cac:TaxTotal/cac:TaxSubtotal/cac:TaxCategory[cbc:ID="K"]Common Causes
- ·Intra-community category IC used but no BG-23 breakdown exists
- ·Invoice lines tagged IC but tax breakdown section missing entry
- ·cac:TaxSubtotal for intra-community supply not generated
- ·IC transactions require explicit zero-rate VAT breakdown
- ·Tax breakdown missing despite intra-community category on lines
Seeing this in production? The API handles BR-IC-01 automatically. See the fix response →
Frequently Asked Questions
If any line uses VAT category K, breakdown must include K.
Add TaxSubtotal with TaxCategory/ID = "K". You can also use Invoice Navigator's automatic Fixer tool to correct this instantly.
Yes, BR-IC-01 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-IC-01 can be automatically corrected using Invoice Navigator's Fixer tool. Upload your invoice and the tool will identify and fix common issues, including intra-community must be in breakdown.
See Also
Related Errors
Last updated: 27 February 2026
Handle BR-IC-01 Automatically in Your Pipeline
The compliance engine auto-remediates this error with controlled safety policies and evidence pack generation.