BR-CO-17: VAT category tax amount (BT-117) does not match base times…

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

BT-116 VAT category taxable amount
BT-117 VAT category tax amount
BT-119 VAT category rate

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-17] VAT category tax amount (BT-117) = VAT category taxable amount (BT-116) x (VAT category rate (BT-119) / 100), rounded to two decimals.

Why this error occurs

In each VAT breakdown the tax amount (BT-117) must equal the taxable amount (BT-116) multiplied by the rate (BT-119) divided by 100, rounded to two decimals; the schematron tolerates a deviation of less than 1.00 to allow per-line rounding. If the rate is 0 the tax amount must be 0. The rule reads cac:TaxSubtotal/cbc:TaxAmount, cbc:TaxableAmount and cac:TaxCategory/cbc:Percent (UBL) or ram:ApplicableTradeTax/ram:CalculatedAmount, ram:BasisAmount and ram:RateApplicablePercent (CII). It fires when the percentage is written as a fraction (0.19), when categories with different rates are merged into one subtotal, or when the base was changed after the tax was computed.

How to fix it

Formula: BT-117 = round(BT-116 x BT-119 / 100, 2). Write the rate as a percentage number (19, 7, 0), not 0.19. Build one cac:TaxSubtotal (ram:ApplicableTradeTax) per combination of category code and rate, sum the matching line net amounts and document allowances/charges into cbc:TaxableAmount / ram:BasisAmount, and compute cbc:TaxAmount / ram:CalculatedAmount from that base. For E, AE, K, G, O and Z categories the rate is 0 and the tax amount must be 0.00.

Example (valid)

<cac:TaxSubtotal>
  <cbc:TaxableAmount currencyID="EUR">245.90</cbc:TaxableAmount>
  <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">46.72</cbc:TaxAmount>
  <cac:TaxCategory><cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID><cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent><cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme></cac:TaxCategory>
</cac:TaxSubtotal>

What the validator checks

Checked element (context):

UBL

cac:TaxTotal/cac:TaxSubtotal

Test (XPath):

(round(cac:TaxCategory[cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']/xs:decimal(cbc:Percent)) = 0 and (round(xs:decimal(cbc:TaxAmount)) = 0)) or (round(cac:TaxCategory[cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']/xs:decimal(cbc:Percent)) != 0 and ((abs(xs:decimal(cbc:TaxAmount)) - 1 < round(abs(xs:decimal(cbc:TaxableAmount)) * (cac:TaxCategory[cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']/xs:decimal(cbc:Percent) div 100) * 10 * 10) div 100 ) and (abs(xs:decimal(cbc:TaxAmount)) + 1 > round(abs(xs:decimal(cbc:TaxableAmount)) * (cac:TaxCategory[cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']/xs:decimal(cbc:Percent) div 100) * 10 * 10) div 100 )))  or (not(exists(cac:TaxCategory[cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']/xs:decimal(cbc:Percent))) and (round(xs:decimal(cbc:TaxAmount)) = 0))

CII

//ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:ApplicableTradeTax

Test (XPath):

(round(.[normalize-space(upper-case(ram:TypeCode)) = 'VAT']/xs:decimal(ram:RateApplicablePercent)) = 0 and (round(xs:decimal(ram:CalculatedAmount)) = 0)) or (round(.[normalize-space(upper-case(ram:TypeCode)) = 'VAT']/xs:decimal(ram:RateApplicablePercent)) != 0 and ((abs(xs:decimal(ram:CalculatedAmount)) - 1 <= round(abs(xs:decimal(ram:BasisAmount)) * (.[normalize-space(upper-case(ram:TypeCode)) = 'VAT']/xs:decimal(ram:RateApplicablePercent) div 100) * 10 * 10) div 100 ) and (abs(xs:decimal(ram:CalculatedAmount)) + 1 >= round(abs(xs:decimal(ram:BasisAmount)) * (.[normalize-space(upper-case(ram:TypeCode)) = 'VAT']/xs:decimal(ram:RateApplicablePercent) div 100) * 10 * 10) div 100 ))) or (not(exists(.[normalize-space(upper-case(ram:TypeCode))='VAT']/xs:decimal(ram:RateApplicablePercent))) and (round(xs:decimal(ram:CalculatedAmount)) = 0))

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Related rules

BR-AF-09 The VAT category tax amount in a VAT breakdown where VAT category code is "IGIC" shall…
BR-AG-09 The VAT category tax amount in a VAT breakdown where VAT category code is "IPSI" shall…
BR-S-09 Standard-rate VAT amount (BT-117) is not base times rate
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-S-08 Standard-rate taxable amount (BT-116) does not match the lines
BR-CO-14 Total VAT amount (BT-110) does not match the VAT breakdown
BR-45 Each VAT breakdown shall have a VAT category taxable amount

Frequently asked questions

What does BR-CO-17 mean?

BR-CO-17 is a en 16931 core rule: VAT category tax amount (BT-117) = VAT category taxable amount (BT-116) x (VAT category rate (BT-119) / 100), rounded to two decimals.

Will my invoice be rejected because of BR-CO-17?

Yes. BR-CO-17 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-17 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.

BR-CO-17: VAT category tax amount (BT-117) does not match base times rate