What it means
When the VAT breakdown contains category K (intra-community supply), the invoice must give the country code of the deliver to address (BT-80), for example FR or NL.
Why it matters
An intra-community supply is only free of VAT when the goods actually leave the seller's country for another EU country. The delivery country is the evidence of that on the invoice, so without it the invoice is rejected.
How to fix it
Fill in the delivery address, or at least its country, in your invoicing software, even when it is the same as the buyer's address, and export again. In UBL it is cac:Delivery/cac:DeliveryLocation/cac:Address/cac:Country/cbc:IdentificationCode.
The rule as published
In an Invoice with a VAT breakdown (BG-23) where the VAT category code (BT-118) is "Intra-community supply" the Deliver to country code (BT-80) shall not be blank. Business terms: BG-23, BT-80, BT-118
Where this rule applies
| Rule set | Version |
|---|---|
| EN 16931 (UBL) | 1.3.17 |
| EN 16931 (UBL credit note) | 1.3.17 |
| EN 16931 (CII) | 1.3.17 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (UBL) | 3.0.2 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (UBL credit note) | 3.0.2 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (CII) | 3.0.2 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (invoice) | 2026.5 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (credit note) | 2026.5 |
| Factur-X 1.09 BASIC WL | 1.0.9-2 |
| Factur-X 1.09 BASIC | 1.0.9-2 |
| Factur-X 1.09 EN 16931 | 1.0.9-2 |
| Factur-X 1.09 EXTENDED | 1.0.9-2 |
| ZUGFeRD 2.5 BASIC WL | 2.5.2 |
| ZUGFeRD 2.5 BASIC | 2.5.2 |
| ZUGFeRD 2.5 EN 16931 | 2.5.2 |
| ZUGFeRD 2.5 EXTENDED | 2.5.2 |
| SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (invoice) | 2.0.3.13 |
| SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (credit note) | 2.0.3.13 |
| NLCIUS (CII) | 1.0.3.13 |
| France CTC (UBL invoice) | 1.4.0-04 |
| France CTC (UBL credit note) | 1.4.0-04 |
| France CTC (CII) | 1.4.0-04 |
| CIUS-RO UBL Invoice 1.0.9 | 1.0.9 |
| CIUS-RO UBL Credit Note 1.0.9 | 1.0.9 |
Check your file
Drop your e-invoice to see whether BR-IC-12 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- BR-47 VAT category code is required
- BR-AE-01 Reverse-charge items need a matching VAT breakdown entry
- BR-AE-08 The AE taxable amount must match the lines
- BR-AE-09 VAT in category AE must be 0
- BR-AE-10 Reverse charge needs the reverse charge note
- BR-AF-01 IGIC on the invoice needs an IGIC entry in the VAT breakdown