Glossary Term

EN16931

EN16931 is the European standard for electronic invoicing that defines the semantic data model and business rules all compliant e-invoices must follow.

Quick Facts

type
European Standard
authority
CEN TC 434
directive
2014/55/EU
published
2017

Definition

What is EN16931?

EN16931 is the European standard for electronic invoicing, officially titled "Electronic invoicing - Semantic data model of the core elements of an electronic invoice."

It was mandated by EU Directive 2014/55/EU, which requires all EU public sector entities to accept e-invoices that comply with this standard.

What EN16931 Defines

1. Semantic Data Model: The meaning and structure of invoice data (Business Terms like BT-1, BT-10)
2. Business Rules: Validation rules that invoices must pass (BR-01, BR-02, etc.)
3. Syntax Bindings: How to express the model in UBL or CII XML

Key Concepts

  • Business Terms (BT-xxx): Individual data elements like Invoice Number (BT-1), Buyer Reference (BT-10)

  • Business Groups (BG-xxx): Logical groupings like Seller (BG-4), Buyer (BG-7)

  • Business Rules (BR-xxx): Validation requirements

    • CIUS (Core Invoice Usage Specifications)

    Countries can create CIUS extensions that add requirements while remaining EN16931-compliant:

  • XRechnung (Germany)

  • Peppol BIS (International)

  • SI-UBL (Netherlands)

  • Factur-X (France)