BR-DE-15fatal

How to fix BR-DE-15

Das Element "Buyer reference" (BT-10) muss übermittelt werden.

XRechnung rule from the KoSIT XRechnung 3.0 schematron (German CIUS of EN 16931). It applies only to invoices whose specification identifier (BT-24) is XRechnung. Such files are checked against EN 16931 and the KoSIT XRechnung rules instead of the full Peppol BIS rule set. Check your file with the XRechnung validator.

What this rule checks

XRechnung makes the Buyer reference (BT-10, cbc:BuyerReference in UBL, ram:BuyerReference in CII) mandatory. For invoices to German public authorities this field carries the Leitweg-ID, the routing identifier that the authority gives you (for example 991-12345-67 or 04011000-1234512345-06). The receiving platforms (ZRE, OZG-RE and the state portals) use it to route the invoice to the right office. If it is missing or empty, the invoice is rejected. For other buyers, put the reference the buyer asked for, such as a cost centre or contact name.

Referenced business terms

This rule references the following EN 16931 business term. Click through for the full definition, the UBL XPath and the cardinality.

BT-10

How to fix it

Add a non-empty cbc:BuyerReference at the Invoice (or CreditNote) root, after cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode, with the Leitweg-ID from the buyer. In CII, add ram:BuyerReference under ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement.

Common causes

The cbc:BuyerReference element is missing because the buyer reference is optional in Peppol BIS (where an order reference can replace it).
The element is present but empty or contains only whitespace.
The Leitweg-ID was put in cac:OrderReference, cbc:Note or the buyer EndpointID only, instead of in BT-10.
In CII, ram:BuyerReference was placed outside ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement.

Example: before (broken)

<Invoice xmlns="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2"
         xmlns:cbc="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonBasicComponents-2">
  <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>
  <cbc:ID>RE-2026-0042</cbc:ID>
  <cbc:IssueDate>2026-10-15</cbc:IssueDate>
  <cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>380</cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>
  <cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>EUR</cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>
  <!-- cbc:BuyerReference (Leitweg-ID) is missing -->
</Invoice>

Example: after (fixed)

<Invoice xmlns="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2"
         xmlns:cbc="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonBasicComponents-2">
  <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>
  <cbc:ID>RE-2026-0042</cbc:ID>
  <cbc:IssueDate>2026-10-15</cbc:IssueDate>
  <cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>380</cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>
  <cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>EUR</cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>
  <cbc:BuyerReference>991-12345-67</cbc:BuyerReference>
</Invoice>

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