What causes the BR-CO-09 error?

BR-CO-09 occurs when a VAT identifier does not start with a valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country prefix (e.g., NL, DE, FR). The seller and/or tax representative VAT number must begin with the country code.

How do I fix BR-CO-09?

Add the 2-letter country prefix to the VAT identifier. For example, change 123456789B01 to NL123456789B01 for a Dutch VAT number.

Is BR-CO-09 a critical error?

Yes, BR-CO-09 is a business rule violation that will cause invoice rejection. VAT identifiers must include the country prefix for proper tax authority validation.

Can BR-CO-09 be automatically fixed?

In some cases. Invoice Navigator can add the country prefix based on the seller address country code, but manual verification is recommended for tax identifiers.

Error codes · EN 16931

BR-CO-09Fixable here

VAT number is missing the country code

This is the rejection, word for word: „[BR-CO-09] A VAT identification number in this invoice does not start with a valid two-letter country code. European VAT numbers must be prefixed with the country code (e.g. DE for Germany, NL for the Netherlands, SE for Sweden). Greece may use EL instead of GR.“

XPath: cac:PartyTaxScheme/cbc:CompanyID — EN16931 rule BR-CO-09. The first 2 characters must be a valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (or EL for Greece). Applies to seller, buyer, and tax representative.

What to have readyThe missing value from your purchase order, contract or bookkeeping.

What we doInvoice Navigator automatically fixes this issue by correcting the `cbc:CompanyID` element in your Invoice.

Choose the rejected invoiceor drop it here

XRechnung XML or ZUGFeRD PDF. Checking is free · corrected file €1.90 · the first every 30 days is free · no sign-up.

If you enter it yourself in your invoicing software

Before

<cac:PartyTaxScheme>\n  <cbc:CompanyID>123456789B01</cbc:CompanyID>\n  <cac:TaxScheme>\n    <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>\n  </cac:TaxScheme>\n</cac:PartyTaxScheme>

After

<cac:PartyTaxScheme>\n  <cbc:CompanyID>NL123456789B01</cbc:CompanyID>\n  <cac:TaxScheme>\n    <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>\n  </cac:TaxScheme>\n</cac:PartyTaxScheme>

What the finding looks likeExample

FindingValue missing · BR-CO-09

Locationcac:PartyTaxScheme/cbc:CompanyID

From youThe missing value

ThenPassed

ProofSHA-256 and /verify link after the check

Often appears together with

BR-AE-02Reverse charge requires both VAT IDs BR-S-02Standard rated invoice requires seller VAT number