What it means
When the payment means is a direct debit (codes 49 or 59), a Peppol invoice must give the mandate reference identifier (BT-89), the unique reference of the SEPA mandate the customer signed.
Why it matters
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 adds this rule to EN 16931 so that every access point and receiver can process the invoice the same way. The sending or receiving access point rejects an invoice that fails it, so it never reaches the buyer.
How to fix it
Enter the customer's mandate reference on the customer record or the invoice, exactly as on the signed SEPA mandate, and export again. If the invoice is not collected by direct debit, choose the right payment means instead. In UBL it is cac:PaymentMandate/cbc:ID.
The rule as published
Mandate reference MUST be provided for direct debit. Where this rule applies
| Rule set | Version |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Check your file
Drop your e-invoice to see whether PEPPOL-EN16931-R061 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- PEPPOL-EN16931-R080 At most one project reference on the invoice
- PEPPOL-EN16931-R100 At most one invoiced object per line
- PEPPOL-EN16931-R101 Line document references may only be invoiced objects
- PEPPOL-EN16931-R110 A line period must start within the invoicing period
- PEPPOL-EN16931-R111 A line period must end within the invoicing period
- PEPPOL-EN16931-R120 The line amount should equal quantity times price, plus charges, minus discounts