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BR-DE – XRechnung

BR-DE-21: specification identifier (BT-24) is not the XRechnung id

WarningXRechnung business rule (KoSIT)

Official message

[BR-DE-21] Das Element "Specification identifier" (BT-24) soll syntaktisch der Kennung des Standards XRechnung entsprechen.

Source: KoSIT XRechnung, version 3.0.2 (Schematron 2.6.0)

How to fix it

Put the identifier of the current XRechnung version into CustomizationID, that is urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0 for the CIUS. With the extension it reads urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#conformant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:extension:xrechnung_3.0, without any spaces.

Before – invalid
<ubl:Invoice>
  <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017</cbc:CustomizationID>
  <cbc:ProfileID>urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0</cbc:ProfileID>
</ubl:Invoice>
After – corrected
<ubl:Invoice>
  <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>
  <cbc:ProfileID>urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0</cbc:ProfileID>
</ubl:Invoice>

What the message means

The specification identifier of the invoice is not the current identifier of the XRechnung standard. This identifier tells the recipient which rules the invoice was built for; invoice portals choose their checks by it. With a deviating identifier the invoice may not be recognised as an XRechnung and may be checked against the wrong rules.

Common causes

  • The invoicing software still writes the identifier of an older XRechnung version, for example 2.3 instead of 3.0.
  • Only the EN 16931 identifier urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017 was entered, without the XRechnung suffix.
  • A typo or a variant spelling of the identifier, such as a space or upper-case letters.

Frequently asked

Which identifier applies to XRechnung 3.0?

urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:xrechnung_3.0 for the CIUS; with the extension urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#conformant#urn:xeinkauf.de:kosit:extension:xrechnung_3.0. The version number follows the standard in force.

What happens when the identifier names an older version?

Many portals pick their validation rules by the identifier. An older or wrong identifier then leads to other errors or to a rejection; enter the identifier of the current version.

Fields concerned

  • BT-24

Related rules

Check your invoice

The XRechnung validator reports this rule with the line number and location – right in your browser, without upload.

Open the XRechnung validator

Technical details
UBL · Context (XPath)
/ubl:Invoice | /cn:CreditNote
UBL · Schematron test
cbc:CustomizationID = $XR-CIUS-ID or cbc:CustomizationID = $XR-EXTENSION-ID or cbc:CustomizationID = $XR-CVD-ID
CII · Context (XPath)
/rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:ExchangedDocumentContext
CII · Schematron test
ram:GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID = $XR-CIUS-ID or ram:GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID = $XR-EXTENSION-ID or ram:GuidelineSpecifiedDocumentContextParameter/ram:ID = $XR-CVD-ID

Explanation written on 14 September 2026