Peppol error codes

BR-CO-09: VAT number without country prefix

By Philippe Kimpe and Jelle Heyvaert, authors of E-facturatie Ontcijferd · Updated on 11 October 2026

Error code BR-CO-09 means: a VAT number of the seller, buyer or tax representative does not start with a valid country code, such as BE.

Rule set: EN 16931 · Severity: error (fatal): an Access Point rejects the invoice · Checked against the official rules of May 2026

What does BR-CO-09 mean?

The validator shows this message (as worded in the official rules):

[BR-CO-09]-The Seller VAT identifier (BT-31), the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63) and the Buyer VAT identifier (BT-48) shall have a prefix in accordance with ISO code ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 by which the country of issue may be identified. Nevertheless, Greece may use the prefix ‘EL’.

VAT numbers in an e-invoice must start with the two-letter ISO country code. For Belgium, that means BE followed by ten digits: BE0987654394. Moreover, the rule applies to the seller VAT number (BT-31), the buyer VAT number (BT-48) and a tax representative (BT-63). Only Greece may use EL instead of GR.

Common causes

The customer record contains the company number in the VAT number field.
Someone entered the number with dots or spaces but without the country prefix.
For a customer outside the EU, someone entered a local tax number without country code as VAT number.
A customer without a VAT registration still has a value in the VAT field.

How to fix it as the sender

Enter VAT numbers as country code plus number, without dots or spaces: BE0987654394.
Only use the VAT field (PartyTaxScheme) for VAT numbers. A company registration number belongs in PartyLegalEntity/CompanyID.
Leave the VAT field empty for customers without a VAT number.

Received an invoice with this error?

Check that the supplier has your own VAT number correctly in its records. In most cases, the error sits in the sender’s customer record.

Example in the XML

❌ Wrong

<cac:PartyTaxScheme>
  <cbc:CompanyID>0987654394</cbc:CompanyID>
  <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
</cac:PartyTaxScheme>

✅ Correct

<cac:PartyTaxScheme>
  <cbc:CompanyID>BE0987654394</cbc:CompanyID>
  <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
</cac:PartyTaxScheme>

Both snippets come from a complete test invoice that we checked with our validator: the wrong version gives exactly this message, the correct version no errors at all.

Try this error in the validator →

Good to know

In Belgium, the company number and the VAT number use the same digits, but you write them differently. For example, in Peppol the company number is scheme 0208 (without BE), whereas the VAT number is scheme 9925. In the VAT field, however, you always write it with BE.

Check your invoice

Drop your XML into the free validator. You see right away whether this error still occurs, with a link to the explanation for every message.

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Official rule

The full rule with its technical test (Schematron) is in the official Peppol documentation:

BR-CO-09 on docs.peppol.eu

Related error codes

BR-CO-26: The invoice contains no number that lets the buyer identify the seller automatically: no seller identifier, no legal registration number and no VAT number.
BR-S-02: The invoice charges VAT at the standard rate (category S), but the seller VAT number is missing.

Frequently asked questions about BR-CO-09

How do I write a Belgian VAT number in an e-invoice?

Write BE followed by ten digits, without dots or spaces: BE0987654394.

Does this rule apply to non-EU customers?

It applies to every VAT number in the VAT field. If the customer has no VAT number with a country prefix, leave the field empty.

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