BR-CO-13: Total without VAT (BT-109) does not add up

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

BT-107 Sum of allowances on document level
BT-108 Sum of charges on document level
BT-109 Invoice total amount without VAT
BT-131 Invoice line net amount

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-13] Invoice total amount without VAT (BT-109) = Σ Invoice line net amount (BT-131) - Sum of allowances on document level (BT-107) + Sum of charges on document level (BT-108).

Why this error occurs

The invoice total amount without VAT (BT-109) must equal the sum of line net amounts (BT-106) minus document level allowances (BT-107) plus document level charges (BT-108). The rule evaluates cac:LegalMonetaryTotal/cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount against cbc:LineExtensionAmount, cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount and cbc:ChargeTotalAmount (UBL), or ram:TaxBasisTotalAmount against ram:LineTotalAmount, ram:AllowanceTotalAmount and ram:ChargeTotalAmount (CII). Mismatches usually come from software deriving BT-109 from the VAT breakdown or from gross totals instead of from these three fields.

How to fix it

Formula: BT-109 = BT-106 - BT-107 + BT-108, rounded to 2 decimals; missing BT-107 or BT-108 count as 0. In UBL write the result into cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount, in CII into ram:TaxBasisTotalAmount. Make sure BT-106, BT-107 and BT-108 themselves are correct first (BR-CO-10 to BR-CO-12), then recompute BT-109 from the values actually written. Do not include VAT, rounding amount or prepaid amount here.

Example (valid)

<cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>
  <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">250.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
  <cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount currencyID="EUR">245.90</cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount>
  <cbc:TaxInclusiveAmount currencyID="EUR">292.62</cbc:TaxInclusiveAmount>
  <cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount currencyID="EUR">10.00</cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount>
  <cbc:ChargeTotalAmount currencyID="EUR">5.90</cbc:ChargeTotalAmount>
  <cbc:PayableAmount currencyID="EUR">292.62</cbc:PayableAmount>
</cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>

What the validator checks

Checked element (context):

UBL

cac:LegalMonetaryTotal

Test (XPath):

((cbc:ChargeTotalAmount) and (cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount) and (xs:decimal(cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount) = round((xs:decimal(cbc:LineExtensionAmount) + xs:decimal(cbc:ChargeTotalAmount) - xs:decimal(cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount)) * 10 * 10) div 100 ))  or (not(cbc:ChargeTotalAmount) and (cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount) and (xs:decimal(cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount) = round((xs:decimal(cbc:LineExtensionAmount) - xs:decimal(cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount)) * 10 * 10 ) div 100)) or ((cbc:ChargeTotalAmount) and not(cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount) and (xs:decimal(cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount) = round((xs:decimal(cbc:LineExtensionAmount) + xs:decimal(cbc:ChargeTotalAmount)) * 10 * 10 ) div 100)) or (not(cbc:ChargeTotalAmount) and not(cbc:AllowanceTotalAmount) and (xs:decimal(cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount) = xs:decimal(cbc:LineExtensionAmount)))

CII

//ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation

Test (XPath):

(xs:decimal(ram:TaxBasisTotalAmount) = round((xs:decimal(ram:LineTotalAmount) - xs:decimal(ram:AllowanceTotalAmount) + xs:decimal(ram:ChargeTotalAmount)) *10 * 10) div 100) or      ((xs:decimal(ram:TaxBasisTotalAmount) = round((xs:decimal(ram:LineTotalAmount) - xs:decimal(ram:AllowanceTotalAmount)) *10 * 10) div 100)  and not (ram:ChargeTotalAmount)) or      ((xs:decimal(ram:TaxBasisTotalAmount) = round((xs:decimal(ram:LineTotalAmount) + xs:decimal(ram:ChargeTotalAmount)) *10 * 10) div 100)  and not (ram:AllowanceTotalAmount)) or      ((xs:decimal(ram:TaxBasisTotalAmount) = round((xs:decimal(ram:LineTotalAmount))  *10 * 10) div 100) and not (ram:ChargeTotalAmount) and not (ram:AllowanceTotalAmount))

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Same check via API:

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Related rules

BR-CO-10 Sum of line net amounts (BT-106) does not match the lines
BR-CO-11 Sum of document level allowances (BT-107) is wrong
BR-CO-12 Sum of document level charges (BT-108) is wrong
BR-CO-15 Total with VAT (BT-112) is not net plus VAT
BR-13 An Invoice shall have the Invoice total amount without VAT
BR-24 Each Invoice line shall have an Invoice line net 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",…

Frequently asked questions

What does BR-CO-13 mean?

BR-CO-13 is a en 16931 core rule: Invoice total amount without VAT (BT-109) = Σ Invoice line net amount (BT-131) - Sum of allowances on document level (BT-107) + Sum of charges on document level (BT-108).

Will my invoice be rejected because of BR-CO-13?

Yes. BR-CO-13 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-13 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.