BR-K-01:Intra-community supply VAT treatment
VAT category K (intra-community) requires zero VAT and both party VAT numbers.
Engine Classification
Financial or legal field · Modification blocked by policy
Reason: Intra-community supply (VAT category K) requires: zero VAT rate, valid VAT numbers for both seller and buyer from different EU countries, and proper exemption reason. This involves multiple cross-field validations and must be configured correctly in your source system.
What is BR-K-01?
BR-K-01 is a fatal validation rule defined in the en16931 specification. It validates the TaxCategory element 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:TaxCategory[cbc:ID="K"]
Why This Error Matters
Intra-EU goods supplies have specific VAT exemption rules.
BR-K-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
- ·Fails EN 16931 business rule validation
- ·Error returned: BR-K-01
- ·Specification: en16931
How to Fix It
Use K category
For intra-EU B2B goods supply
Zero percent
Intra-community is zero-rated for seller
Both VAT numbers
Seller and buyer must have valid EU VAT IDs
Add reason
Reference Article 138
XML Example
Generic example based on the rule's target XPath. Your actual XML structure may differ.
<!-- Required block is missing --> <!-- <cac:TaxCategory> ... </cac:TaxCategory> -->
<!-- Add the required block --> <cac:TaxCategory> <!-- child elements --> </cac:TaxCategory>
Technical Reference
XPath: //cac:TaxCategory[cbc:ID="K"]Code Example
<cac:TaxCategory>
<cbc:ID>K</cbc:ID>
<cbc:Percent>0</cbc:Percent>
<cbc:TaxExemptionReasonCode>VATEX-EU-IC</cbc:TaxExemptionReasonCode>
<cbc:TaxExemptionReason>Intra-community supply</cbc:TaxExemptionReason>
<cac:TaxScheme>
<cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
</cac:TaxScheme>
</cac:TaxCategory>Common Causes
- ·Buyer VAT not verified
- ·Wrong country buyer
- ·Missing reason
Seeing this in production? The API handles BR-K-01 automatically. See the fix response →
Commonly Seen In
Frequently Asked Questions
VAT category K (intra-community) requires zero VAT and both party VAT numbers.
Configure intra-EU supply correctly. You can also use Invoice Navigator's automatic Fixer tool to correct this instantly.
Yes, BR-K-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-K-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 supply vat treatment.
BR-K-01 is commonly seen in exports from All invoicing software. These software packages sometimes generate invoices that need adjustment to meet full compliance standards.
See Also
Related Errors
Last updated: 18 January 2026
Handle BR-K-01 Automatically in Your Pipeline
The compliance engine auto-remediates this error with controlled safety policies and evidence pack generation.