Skip to content
Change language: English

Fatal

UBL-SR-13: An invoice can have only one seller tax number

In short

Fatal: fails the selected checks.

UBL-SR-13 means the invoice gives the seller more than one tax number (BT-32), the national tax identifier that is not the VAT number. Keep one tax number and make sure your VAT number is not labelled as one.

On this page

What it means

The seller tax number (BT-32) is a national tax identifier that is not the VAT number, such as the German Steuernummer. In UBL it is cbc:CompanyID in a seller cac:PartyTaxScheme whose cac:TaxScheme/cbc:ID is anything other than VAT, ignoring letter case. The rule allows one such entry, so a VAT number that is exported under a different scheme code counts here too.

Why it matters

The tax number is a single field in EN 16931.

How to fix it

In your invoicing software, look at the seller's tax details and keep one tax number. Check that your VAT number is labelled as a VAT number and not as a tax number, otherwise the software may export it as a second tax entry. If you need to show other numbers, put them in the additional legal information (BT-33) as plain text. In the XML, keep one cac:PartyTaxScheme with one cbc:CompanyID and a scheme other than VAT under cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party.

Once the file is corrected, check it again for free: Validate an invoice against EN 16931

Or fix the invoice in a form and download the corrected file, for 1 credit: Fix a rejected e-invoice

The rule as published

Seller tax registration shall occur maximum once

Where this rule applies

Rule set Version
EN 16931 (UBL) 1.3.17
EN 16931 (UBL credit note) 1.3.17
XRechnung 3.0 (UBL) 3.0.2
XRechnung 3.0 (UBL credit note) 3.0.2
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (invoice) 2026.5
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (credit note) 2026.5
SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (invoice) 2.0.3.13
SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (credit note) 2.0.3.13
France CTC (UBL invoice) 1.4.0-04
France CTC (UBL credit note) 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
Rule text from phive-rules 4.6.4.

Check your file

Drop your e-invoice to see whether UBL-SR-13 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026