BR-DE – XRechnung

BR-DE-8: buyer city (BT-52) missing in the XRechnung

ErrorXRechnung business rule (KoSIT)

Official message

[BR-DE-8] Das Element "Buyer city" (BT-52) muss übermittelt werden.

Source: KoSIT XRechnung, version 3.0.2 (Schematron 2.6.0)

What the message means

The city is missing from the invoice recipient's address. XRechnung requires the same complete address for the buyer as for the seller, because the invoice must identify the recipient without doubt, also for the bookkeeping and the input tax deduction on their side. The error usually comes from the customer master data or from an order taken over without a complete address. Add the city to the customer and create the invoice again.

How to fix it

Add the city to the buyer's address: in UBL cbc:CityName under cac:AccountingCustomerParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress, in CII ram:CityName in the PostalTradeAddress of the BuyerTradeParty. Check the master record so that the next invoice does not carry the same defect.

Before – invalid

<cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
  <cac:Party>
    <cac:PostalAddress>
      <cbc:StreetName>Rathausplatz 1</cbc:StreetName>
      <cbc:PostalZone>80331</cbc:PostalZone>
      <cac:Country><cbc:IdentificationCode>DE</cbc:IdentificationCode></cac:Country>
    </cac:PostalAddress>
  </cac:Party>
</cac:AccountingCustomerParty>

After – corrected

<cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
  <cac:Party>
    <cac:PostalAddress>
      <cbc:StreetName>Rathausplatz 1</cbc:StreetName>
      <cbc:CityName>München</cbc:CityName>
      <cbc:PostalZone>80331</cbc:PostalZone>
      <cac:Country><cbc:IdentificationCode>DE</cbc:IdentificationCode></cac:Country>
    </cac:PostalAddress>
  </cac:Party>
</cac:AccountingCustomerParty>

Frequently asked

Why is the Leitweg-ID not enough as the address of a public body?

The Leitweg-ID routes the invoice inside the portal; the postal address remains a mandatory invoice detail and is checked separately.

Is the city required for the seller as well?

Yes. BR-DE-3 reads: „Das Element "Seller city" (BT-37) muss übermittelt werden.“ Both addresses need city and post code in XRechnung, and the country code under EN 16931.

Also seen when …

The customer master record has no city, or the whole address sits in one field.
The buyer data was taken from an order that only held the street and the post code.
For a public body only the Leitweg-ID was maintained, not the postal address.

Fields concerned

BT-52
BG-8

Related rules

BR-DE-9
BR-10
BR-11

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Technical details

UBL · Context (XPath): /ubl:Invoice/cac:AccountingCustomerParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress | /cn:CreditNote/cac:AccountingCustomerParty/cac:Party/cac:PostalAddress
UBL · Schematron test: cbc:CityName[boolean(normalize-space(.))]
CII · Context (XPath): /rsm:CrossIndustryInvoice/rsm:SupplyChainTradeTransaction/ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeAgreement/ram:BuyerTradeParty/ram:PostalTradeAddress
CII · Schematron test: ram:CityName[boolean(normalize-space(.))]

Explanation written on 14 September 2026