PEPPOL-COMMON-R050: Australian Business Number (scheme 0151) has an invalid…

StandardPeppol BIS Billing 3.0 (OpenPeppol)SeverityError: the invoice is rejectedSyntaxUBL, CIIApplies toInvoices and credit notes sent over the Peppol network (UBL) and, because XRechnung embeds the Peppol rule set, every XRechnung as well.

Official rule text

[PEPPOL-COMMON-R050] Australian Business Number (ABN) MUST be stated in the correct format.

Why this error occurs

An identifier with schemeID 0151 is an Australian Business Number (ABN) and must be eleven digits that pass the ABN weighted modulus-89 check. The rule checks cbc:EndpointID, cac:PartyIdentification/cbc:ID and cbc:CompanyID with schemeID 0151 (UBL) or ram:URIID, ram:ID, ram:GlobalID with schemeID 0151 (CII). It fails on the printed form with spaces (51 824 753 556), the ABN prefix, a nine-digit ACN used instead, or a typo.

How to fix it

Write the eleven digits without spaces, e.g. 51824753556, and verify the number with the ABN algorithm or the ABN Lookup service. If you only have an ACN (nine digits), obtain the ABN; the ACN is not accepted under scheme 0151. The same clean value should be used for the Peppol participant identifier and for cac:PartyIdentification.

Example (valid)

<cbc:EndpointID schemeID="0151">51824753556</cbc:EndpointID>

What the validator checks

Checked element (context):

UBL

cbc:EndpointID[@schemeID = '0151'] | cac:PartyIdentification/cbc:ID[@schemeID = '0151'] | cbc:CompanyID[@schemeID = '0151']

Test (XPath):

matches(normalize-space(), '^[0-9]{11}$') and u:abn(normalize-space())

CII

ram:URIID[@schemeID = '0151'] | ram:ID[@schemeID = '0151'] | ram:GlobalID[@schemeID = '0151']

Test (XPath):

u:abn(normalize-space())

Check your invoice

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Check your invoice →

Same check via API:

curl -F file=@invoice.xml https://einvoicechecker.com/v1/validate

Related rules

PEPPOL-COMMON-R040 GLN (scheme 0088) has an invalid format
PEPPOL-COMMON-R041 Norwegian organisation number (scheme 0192) has an invalid format
PEPPOL-COMMON-R042 Danish organization number (CVR) MUST be stated in the correct format
PEPPOL-COMMON-R043 Belgian enterprise number (scheme 0208) has an invalid format
PEPPOL-COMMON-R044 Italian IPA code (scheme 0201) has an invalid format
PEPPOL-COMMON-R045 Tax Code (Codice Fiscale) must be stated in the correct format
PEPPOL-COMMON-R046 Tax Code (Codice Fiscale) must be stated in the correct format
PEPPOL-COMMON-R047 Italian VAT Code (Partita Iva) must be stated in the correct format

Frequently asked questions

What does PEPPOL-COMMON-R050 mean?

PEPPOL-COMMON-R050 is a peppol bis billing 3.0 rule: Australian Business Number (ABN) MUST be stated in the correct format.

Will my invoice be rejected because of PEPPOL-COMMON-R050?

Yes. PEPPOL-COMMON-R050 is flagged "fatal"; validators (KoSIT, Peppol access points, the German ZRE/OZG-RE portals) reject the invoice until it is fixed.

Which formats does PEPPOL-COMMON-R050 apply to?

Invoices and credit notes sent over the Peppol network (UBL) and, because XRechnung embeds the Peppol rule set, every XRechnung as well. Syntax: UBL and CII.

Source: Peppol BIS Billing 3.0.20 (November 2025). Catalogue generated from the official schematron on 2026-10-14.

PEPPOL-COMMON-R050: Australian Business Number (scheme 0151) has an invalid format