Glossary Term
BT-48

BT-48 Buyer VAT Identifier

BT-48 is the buyer's VAT registration number, required for intra-community supplies and reverse charge transactions in EU e-invoicing.

Quick Facts

Parent
BG-7 Buyer
Key use
Reverse charge / intra-community
Data type
Identifier
Cardinality
0..1

Definition

What is BT-48?

BT-48 (Buyer VAT identifier) contains the buyer's VAT registration number. It's particularly important for cross-border EU transactions where reverse charge applies.

Requirements

  • Cardinality: 0..1

  • Data type: Identifier

  • Required for intra-community supplies (reverse charge)

  • Must follow country-specific VAT number format

    • In UBL XML


      
        
          NL123456789B01
          
            VAT

    In CII XML


      
        NL123456789B01

    When Is It Required?

    Scenario BT-48 Required? --------------------------
    Domestic sale with VAT Optional Intra-community supply Yes (for reverse charge)
    Export outside EU Optional Reverse charge (domestic) Yes

    Reverse Charge

    When selling to a VAT-registered business in another EU country, the buyer's VAT number is mandatory. The invoice should have 0% VAT with a reference to the reverse charge mechanism (BT-121 = "AE").

    Common Errors

  • Missing for reverse charge — intra-community supply without buyer VAT fails validation

  • Wrong format — must include the country prefix (NL, DE, etc.)

  • Invalid VIES check — the VAT number must be active in the VIES database

  • Mixing up BT-46 and BT-48 — BT-46 is the buyer identifier (e.g., KVK), BT-48 is the buyer VAT number

    • XML Examples

    UBL (Peppol, XRechnung)

    <cbc:CompanyID>NL123456789B01</cbc:CompanyID>

    CII (ZUGFeRD, Factur-X)

    <ram:ID schemeID="VA">NL123456789B01</ram:ID>