PEPPOL-EN16931-R055: Invoice total VAT amount and Invoice total VAT amount in…

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-EN16931-R055] Invoice total VAT amount and Invoice total VAT amount in accounting currency MUST have the same operational sign

Why this error occurs

The validator evaluates the XPath test above against the context element; the assertion is false for your file.

How to fix it

Compare your file with the rule text and the test expression, adjust the element named in the context, and validate again.

What the validator checks

Checked element (context):

UBL

ubl-creditnote:CreditNote | ubl-invoice:Invoice

Test (XPath):

not(cbc:TaxCurrencyCode) or (cac:TaxTotal/cbc:TaxAmount[@currencyID=normalize-space(../../cbc:TaxCurrencyCode)] <= 0 and cac:TaxTotal/cbc:TaxAmount[@currencyID=normalize-space(../../cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode)] <= 0) or (cac:TaxTotal/cbc:TaxAmount[@currencyID=normalize-space(../../cbc:TaxCurrencyCode)] >= 0 and cac:TaxTotal/cbc:TaxAmount[@currencyID=normalize-space(../../cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode)] >= 0)

CII

ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement

Test (XPath):

not(/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:TaxCurrencyCode) or (ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation/ram:TaxTotalAmount[@currencyID = $taxCurrencyCode] < 0 and ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation/ram:TaxTotalAmount[@currencyID = $documentCurrencyCode] < 0) or (ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation/ram:TaxTotalAmount[@currencyID = $taxCurrencyCode] >= 0 and ram:SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation/ram:TaxTotalAmount[@currencyID = $documentCurrencyCode] >= 0)

Check your invoice

Drop your XML or PDF on the validator and every failed rule is linked to its page here. Free, no account, the file is not stored.

Check your invoice →

Same check via API:

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

Related rules

PEPPOL-EN16931-R001 Business process identifier (BT-23) is missing
PEPPOL-EN16931-R002 No more than one note is allowed on document level, unless both the buyer and seller…
PEPPOL-EN16931-R003 Neither buyer reference nor purchase order reference given
PEPPOL-EN16931-R004 Specification identifier is not the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 identifier
PEPPOL-EN16931-R005 VAT accounting currency equals the invoice currency
PEPPOL-EN16931-R006 Only one invoiced object is allowed on document level
PEPPOL-EN16931-R007 Business process identifier has the wrong format
PEPPOL-EN16931-R008 Document contains empty elements

Frequently asked questions

What does PEPPOL-EN16931-R055 mean?

PEPPOL-EN16931-R055 is a peppol bis billing 3.0 rule: Invoice total VAT amount and Invoice total VAT amount in accounting currency MUST have the same operational sign

Will my invoice be rejected because of PEPPOL-EN16931-R055?

Yes. PEPPOL-EN16931-R055 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-EN16931-R055 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-EN16931-R055: Invoice total VAT amount and Invoice total VAT amount in accounting currency MUST have…