PEPPOL-EN16931-R001 in your own invoice? Upload the file and find every error in seconds.
What does PEPPOL-EN16931-R001 mean?
This rule comes from PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 - the rule set for sending invoices across the European Peppol network. Peppol requires every invoice to name its business process (BT-23) so the recipient can assign the invoice to the right procedure.
Common causes of PEPPOL-EN16931-R001
- The element 'BusinessProcessSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID' is missing entirely.
- The invoice was produced for plain ZUGFeRD/B2B but is checked against the stricter Peppol rules.
How to fix PEPPOL-EN16931-R001
- Find the faulty spot in the XML. Open the XML of the invoice and go to field BT-23 along this XPath:
//rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:ExchangedDocumentContext/ram:BusinessProcessSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID - Apply the fix. Add the business process (BT-23) in 'ram:ExchangedDocumentContext/ram:BusinessProcessSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID', usually with the value 'urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0'.
- Validate again. Save the file and validate it again to check that PEPPOL-EN16931-R001 is no longer reported.
Concrete fix
Add the business process (BT-23) in 'ram:ExchangedDocumentContext/ram:BusinessProcessSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID', usually with the value 'urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0'.
XPath
//rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:ExchangedDocumentContext/ram:BusinessProcessSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:IDFrequent questions about PEPPOL-EN16931-R001
Must I set BT-23 if I do not send through Peppol?
For plain ZUGFeRD B2B invoices, EN 16931 does not require BT-23 - the message then appears only as a Peppol hint or warning. If the invoice is to travel across the Peppol network (for example to a public authority), BT-23 is mandatory.
Which value belongs in BT-23?
For a normal invoice, 'urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0'. The '01' stands for the standard invoicing process.
Related error codes
Check PEPPOL-EN16931-R001 automatically
Instead of digging through the XML by hand you can validate your ZUGFeRD or XRechnung file online – upload the PDF or the XML and you get every error with rule ID, affected field, fix and XPath, as a readable report or as JSON through the API.