UBL Invoice — BR-CO-17, VAT amount does not equal base x rate

Name: UBL Invoice — BR-CO-17, VAT amount does not equal base x rate — UBL 2.1 Invoice sample file
Creator: ValidateFin
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A VAT breakdown that does not add up: a base of 2 000.00 at 19 % is 380.00 of VAT, but the invoice declares 395.00. BR-CO-17 checks VAT category tax amount = taxable amount x rate / 100 with the official margin of 1.00 currency unit — so a genuine cent of rounding is tolerated and this 15.00 gap is not. Every other total agrees with the wrong figure, which is exactly how a rounding bug survives to production.

UBL 2.1 Invoice — Invalid

UBL invoice (Peppol BIS 3.0) UBL 2.1 Invoice EN 16931 / Peppol BIS 3.0Expected result: Invalid — 3 errors

What this file shows

Transactions	2
Total	€2,395.00

The defects it carries

BR-CO-17BR-CO-17: VAT category tax amount (395.00) at rate 19% must equal base × rate / 100 (380.00, margin ±1.00).

Quoted verbatim from the validator, not paraphrased.

Last verified: 2026-07-12License: CC-BY-4.0

Download the file Open the matching validator

Every party, IBAN and amount below is fictitious. The IBANs are structurally valid — they pass the mod-97 check — but they belong to no real account.

File content

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--
  ValidateFin sample file — UBL invoice, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (EN 16931).
  DELIBERATELY BROKEN — BR-CO-17.
  The VAT breakdown declares a taxable base of 2 000.00 at 19 %, which is 380.00 of VAT,
  but the VAT category tax amount says 395.00. Every other total is consistent WITH THAT
  WRONG FIGURE (BT-110 = 395.00, BT-112 = 2 395.00, BT-115 = 2 395.00), so BR-CO-14,
  BR-CO-15 and BR-CO-16 all pass: the file isolates BR-CO-17, "VAT category tax amount =
  VAT category taxable amount x VAT rate / 100", checked with the official margin of 1.00.
  This is the shape of a real rounding bug — VAT summed line by line, or a rate applied
  to a base that already included a discount.
  Expected validation result: INVALID — exactly one error, BR-CO-17.

  All parties and account numbers are fictitious.
  Reference page: https://validatefin.com/en/resources/samples/ubl-invoice-broken-vat-rounding
  License: CC-BY-4.0
-->
<Invoice xmlns="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2"
         xmlns:cac="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonAggregateComponents-2"
         xmlns:cbc="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonBasicComponents-2">
  <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>
  <cbc:ProfileID>urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0</cbc:ProfileID>
  <cbc:ID>KES-2026-0190</cbc:ID>
  <cbc:IssueDate>2026-03-18</cbc:IssueDate>
  <cbc:DueDate>2026-04-17</cbc:DueDate>
  <cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>380</cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>
  <cbc:Note>VAT amount does not match base x rate — see BR-CO-17.</cbc:Note>
  <cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>EUR</cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>
  <cbc:BuyerReference>PO-2026-9207</cbc:BuyerReference>

  <cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
    <cac:Party>
      <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="9930">DE123456789</cbc:EndpointID>
      <cac:PartyName>
        <cbc:Name>Nordwind Logistik GmbH</cbc:Name>
      </cac:PartyName>
      <cac:PostalAddress>
        <cbc:StreetName>Speicherstrasse 12</cbc:StreetName>
        <cbc:CityName>Hamburg</cbc:CityName>
        <cbc:PostalZone>20457</cbc:PostalZone>
        <cac:Country>
          <cbc:IdentificationCode>DE</cbc:IdentificationCode>
        </cac:Country>
      </cac:PostalAddress>
      <cac:PartyTaxScheme>
        <cbc:CompanyID>DE123456789</cbc:CompanyID>
        <cac:TaxScheme>
          <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
        </cac:TaxScheme>
      </cac:PartyTaxScheme>
      <cac:PartyLegalEntity>
        <cbc:RegistrationName>Nordwind Logistik GmbH</cbc:RegistrationName>
        <cbc:CompanyID>HRB 98765</cbc:CompanyID>
      </cac:PartyLegalEntity>
      <cac:Contact>
        <cbc:Name>Rechnungsstelle</cbc:Name>
        <cbc:Telephone>+49 40 555 0100</cbc:Telephone>
        <cbc:ElectronicMail>[email protected]</cbc:ElectronicMail>
      </cac:Contact>
    </cac:Party>
  </cac:AccountingSupplierParty>

  <cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
    <cac:Party>
      <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="9930">DE987654321</cbc:EndpointID>
      <cac:PartyName>
        <cbc:Name>Kessler Handel GmbH</cbc:Name>
      </cac:PartyName>
      <cac:PostalAddress>
        <cbc:StreetName>Marktplatz 3</cbc:StreetName>
        <cbc:CityName>Leipzig</cbc:CityName>
        <cbc:PostalZone>04109</cbc:PostalZone>
        <cac:Country>
          <cbc:IdentificationCode>DE</cbc:IdentificationCode>
        </cac:Country>
      </cac:PostalAddress>
      <cac:PartyTaxScheme>
        <cbc:CompanyID>DE987654321</cbc:CompanyID>
        <cac:TaxScheme>
          <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
        </cac:TaxScheme>
      </cac:PartyTaxScheme>
      <cac:PartyLegalEntity>
        <cbc:RegistrationName>Kessler Handel GmbH</cbc:RegistrationName>
      </cac:PartyLegalEntity>
    </cac:Party>
  </cac:AccountingCustomerParty>

  <cac:PaymentMeans>
    <cbc:PaymentMeansCode>30</cbc:PaymentMeansCode>
    <cbc:PaymentID>KES-2026-0190</cbc:PaymentID>
    <cac:PayeeFinancialAccount>
      <cbc:ID>DE89370400440532013000</cbc:ID>
      <cbc:Name>Nordwind Logistik GmbH</cbc:Name>
    </cac:PayeeFinancialAccount>
  </cac:PaymentMeans>

  <cac:PaymentTerms>
    <cbc:Note>Net 30 days.</cbc:Note>
  </cac:PaymentTerms>

  <!-- 2000.00 x 19 % = 380.00, not 395.00 -->
  <cac:TaxTotal>
    <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">395.00</cbc:TaxAmount>
    <cac:TaxSubtotal>
      <cbc:TaxableAmount currencyID="EUR">2000.00</cbc:TaxableAmount>
      <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">395.00</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>
  </cac:TaxTotal>

  <cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>
    <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">2000.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
    <cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount currencyID="EUR">2000.00</cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount>
    <cbc:TaxInclusiveAmount currencyID="EUR">2395.00</cbc:TaxInclusiveAmount>
    <cbc:PayableAmount currencyID="EUR">2395.00</cbc:PayableAmount>
  </cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>

  <cac:InvoiceLine>
    <cbc:ID>1</cbc:ID>
    <cbc:InvoicedQuantity unitCode="C62">8</cbc:InvoicedQuantity>
    <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">1200.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
    <cac:Item>
      <cbc:Description>Warehouse trolley, 300 kg capacity</cbc:Description>
      <cbc:Name>Warehouse trolley</cbc:Name>
      <cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
        <cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID>
        <cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent>
        <cac:TaxScheme>
          <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
        </cac:TaxScheme>
      </cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
    </cac:Item>
    <cac:Price>
      <cbc:PriceAmount currencyID="EUR">150.00</cbc:PriceAmount>
    </cac:Price>
  </cac:InvoiceLine>

  <cac:InvoiceLine>
    <cbc:ID>2</cbc:ID>
    <cbc:InvoicedQuantity unitCode="C62">20</cbc:InvoicedQuantity>
    <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">800.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
    <cac:Item>
      <cbc:Description>Safety strap set for pallet loads</cbc:Description>
      <cbc:Name>Safety strap set</cbc:Name>
      <cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
        <cbc:ID>S</cbc:ID>
        <cbc:Percent>19</cbc:Percent>
        <cac:TaxScheme>
          <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
        </cac:TaxScheme>
      </cac:ClassifiedTaxCategory>
    </cac:Item>
    <cac:Price>

160 / 165 lines shown — the complete file is in the download above.

How we know these results hold

Every file in this library is run through the site's own validator on each build. The expected result stated above is asserted by an automated test — if a file stopped matching what this page claims, the build would fail. Two inherited fixtures were repaired this way before publication: three IBANs failed the mod-97 check and several names used characters outside the basic SEPA character set.

UBL invoice (Peppol BIS 3.0)

All sample files https://validatefin.com/samples/ubl-invoice-broken-vat-rounding.xml