What is BR-G about?
The VAT category "Export outside the EU" (code G) covers tax free export supplies to a third country, under German law the exempt export supply per section 4 no. 1a UStG. In B2B it arises when a German seller ships goods to a customer outside the EU. VAT rate and tax amount are zero, yet the invoice needs a VAT exemption reason and the seller's VAT identifier (or that of the seller's tax representative). The common thread of the BR-G rules: whoever carries a line, an allowance or a charge with code G must create exactly one matching entry in the VAT breakdown, set VAT rate and tax amount to zero there, add up the taxable amount correctly and state the reason for the exemption.
All rules in group BR-G
If an invoice contains a line, an allowance or a charge with the VAT category "Export outside the EU", the VAT breakdown must contain exactly one entry with the VAT category code (BT-118) "Export outside the EU".
If an invoice line has the invoiced item VAT category code (BT-151) "Export outside the EU", the invoice must contain the Seller VAT identifier (BT-31) or the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63).
If a document level allowance has the VAT category code (BT-95) "Export outside the EU", the invoice must contain the Seller VAT identifier (BT-31) or the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63).
If a document level charge has the VAT category code (BT-102) "Export outside the EU", the invoice must contain the Seller VAT identifier (BT-31) or the Seller tax representative VAT identifier (BT-63).
In an invoice line with the invoiced item VAT category code (BT-151) "Export outside the EU", the invoiced item VAT rate (BT-152) must be zero.
For a document level allowance with the VAT category code (BT-95) "Export outside the EU", the document level allowance VAT rate (BT-96) must be zero.
For a document level charge with the VAT category code (BT-102) "Export outside the EU", the document level charge VAT rate (BT-103) must be zero.
In a VAT breakdown with the VAT category code (BT-118) "Export outside the EU", the VAT category taxable amount (BT-116) must equal the sum of the invoice line net amounts with this category, less the allowances and plus the charges that carry the same category.
In a VAT breakdown with the VAT category code (BT-118) "Export outside the EU", the VAT category tax amount (BT-117) must be zero.
A VAT breakdown with the VAT category code (BT-118) "Export outside the EU" must contain a VAT exemption reason code (BT-121) meaning "Export outside the EU" or a VAT exemption reason text (BT-120) with that meaning.
Check BR-G automatically
Instead of digging through the XML by hand you can validate your ZUGFeRD or XRechnung file online – you get every violation with rule ID, affected field, fix and XPath, as a readable report or as JSON through the API.