BR-CO-09: The VAT number has no country prefix. How to fix it

What the rule checks

The rule checks the start of every VAT identification number on the invoice: your own (BT-31), your tax representative's (BT-63) and your customer's (BT-48). Each must begin with a two-letter ISO 3166-1 country code that identifies the issuing country, such as DE for Germany or AT for Austria. The one exception: Greece may use EL.

Why files fail it

• The VAT number was entered as digits only, 123456789 instead of DE123456789. The prefix is part of the number, even on a purely domestic invoice.
• The VAT number field actually holds the German tax number, such as 30/815/12345. A tax number has no country prefix and belongs in a field of its own.
• The prefix is in lower case, de instead of DE. The check compares against a list in capitals and does not recognise de as a country code.
• Your customer's VAT number went into the customer record without its prefix. The rule checks their number exactly as it checks yours.

How to fix it

1. 1Put the country prefix directly in front of the number: DE123456789 for Germany, ATU12345678 for Austria. For Greece, EL is allowed.
2. 2The fields are "Seller VAT identifier" (BT-31) and "Buyer VAT identifier" (BT-48) in the standard. The message text is the same for both, so check your number and your customer's.
3. 3If the field holds a tax number, move it to "Seller tax registration identifier" (BT-32) and leave BT-31 empty if you have no VAT number. Then see BR-CO-26 as well.
4. 4In our form the "VAT number" field under "Your details" and under "Customer details" tells you before the invoice is created if the number does not start with two letters. Spaces and lower case we tidy up ourselves.