BR-CO-12: Sum of document level charges (BT-108) is wrong

StandardEN 16931-1 (European e-invoicing semantic model)SeverityError: the invoice is rejectedSyntaxUBL, CIIBusiness terms

BT-99 Document level charge amount
BT-108 Sum of charges on document level

Applies toEvery EN 16931 invoice: XRechnung, ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X (profiles EN 16931, EXTENDED, XRECHNUNG), Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, and national CIUS such as the Dutch NLCIUS or the Italian/Spanish profiles.

Official rule text

[BR-CO-12] Sum of charges on document level (BT-108) = Σ Document level charge amount (BT-99).

Why this error occurs

BT-108 must equal the sum of all document level charge amounts (BT-99). The rule compares cac:LegalMonetaryTotal/cbc:ChargeTotalAmount with the sum of cbc:Amount of all /Invoice/cac:AllowanceCharge with cbc:ChargeIndicator true (UBL), or ram:ChargeTotalAmount with the sum of ram:ActualAmount of header ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge with indicator true (CII). Typical causes are shipping or packaging charges modelled as invoice lines while ChargeTotalAmount is still filled, or line-level charges counted at document level.

How to fix it

Formula: BT-108 = Σ BT-99 (document level charges only), rounded to 2 decimals. In UBL set cbc:ChargeTotalAmount in cac:LegalMonetaryTotal; in CII set ram:ChargeTotalAmount in the header monetary summation. If you have charges, the total must be present; if you have none, omit the element or write 0.00. Decide on one modelling: a freight charge is either a document level charge (counted here) or an invoice line (counted in BT-106), never both.

Example (valid)

<cac:AllowanceCharge>
  <cbc:ChargeIndicator>true</cbc:ChargeIndicator>
  <cbc:AllowanceChargeReason>Freight</cbc:AllowanceChargeReason>
  <cbc:Amount currencyID="EUR">5.90</cbc:Amount>
  <cac:TaxCategory><cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID><cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent><cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme></cac:TaxCategory>
</cac:AllowanceCharge>
<cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>...<cbc:ChargeTotalAmount currencyID="EUR">5.90</cbc:ChargeTotalAmount>...</cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>

What the validator checks

Checked element (context):

UBL

cac:LegalMonetaryTotal

Test (XPath):

xs:decimal(cbc:ChargeTotalAmount) = (round(sum(../cac:AllowanceCharge[cbc:ChargeIndicator=true()]/xs:decimal(cbc:Amount)) * 10 * 10) div 100) or (not(cbc:ChargeTotalAmount) and not(../cac:AllowanceCharge[cbc:ChargeIndicator=true()]))

CII

//ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation

Test (XPath):

(not(/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge[ram:ChargeIndicator/udt:Indicator=true()])and not (ram:ChargeTotalAmount)) or ram:ChargeTotalAmount = (round(sum(/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge[ram:ChargeIndicator/udt:Indicator=true()]/ram:ActualAmount)* 10 * 10 ) div 100)

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Related rules

BR-CO-13 Total without VAT (BT-109) does not add up
BR-36 Each Document level charge shall have a Document level charge amount
BR-AE-08 In a VAT breakdown where the VAT category code is "Reverse charge" the VAT category…
BR-AF-08 For each different value of VAT category rate where the VAT category code is "IGIC",…
BR-AG-08 For each different value of VAT category rate where the VAT category code is "IPSI",…
BR-DEC-05 The allowed maximum number of decimals for the Document level charge amount is 2
BR-DEC-11 The allowed maximum number of decimals for the Sum of charges on document level is 2
BR-E-08 In a VAT breakdown where the VAT category code is "Exempt from VAT" the VAT category…

Frequently asked questions

What does BR-CO-12 mean?

BR-CO-12 is a en 16931 core rule: Sum of charges on document level (BT-108) = Σ Document level charge amount (BT-99).

Will my invoice be rejected because of BR-CO-12?

Yes. BR-CO-12 is flagged "fatal"; validators (KoSIT, Peppol access points, the German ZRE/OZG-RE portals) reject the invoice until it is fixed.

Which formats does BR-CO-12 apply to?

Every EN 16931 invoice: XRechnung, ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X (profiles EN 16931, EXTENDED, XRECHNUNG), Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, and national CIUS such as the Dutch NLCIUS or the Italian/Spanish profiles. Syntax: UBL and CII.

Source: EN 16931-1:2017 schematron (CEN TC434, via Peppol BIS 3.0.20). Catalogue generated from the official schematron on 2026-10-14.