E-invoice rule EN 16931 schematron
BR-55: A reference to a preceding invoice (BG-3)
A reference to a preceding invoice (BG-3) needs that invoice number (BT-25) in cac:InvoiceDocumentReference/cbc:ID.
Original wording of the rule
[BR-55]-Each Preceding Invoice reference (BG-3) shall contain a Preceding Invoice reference (BT-25).
Source of the quotation: EN 16931 schematron (ConnectingEurope/eInvoicing-EN16931, licence EUPL 1.2)
How to fix it
- Open the XML file and find the element
cac:InvoiceDocumentReference/cbc:ID. - Add or correct the element the way the wording of the rule above asks for.
- Save the file and check it again with our checker. It runs in your browser, the file is never uploaded.
A correct UBL 2.1 snippet
<cac:InvoiceDocumentReference
xmlns:cac="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonAggregateComponents-2"
xmlns:cbc="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonBasicComponents-2">
<cbc:ID>2026-0142</cbc:ID>
</cac:InvoiceDocumentReference>The snippet is only the part of the document the rule is about. Put it in the right place inside your invoice; the namespaces are written here only so that the snippet reads on its own.
When it is reported
Profile: EN 16931, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, XRechnung 3.x
How we rate it: error
UBL elements: cac:InvoiceDocumentReference/cbc:ID
Where we point in the file: /Invoice/cac:BillingReference
Related rules
- BR-53 If the VAT accounting currency code is present
- BR-54 An item attribute (BG-32) needs both a name (BT-160, cbc:Name)
- BR-56 The seller tax representative (BG-11) needs a VAT identifier (BT-63)
- BR-57 The deliver to address (BG-15) is missing the country code (BT-80)
- BR-61 With payment means 58 (credit transfer) the payment account identifier
Our check is not complete: we do not check the XSD schema and we do not implement every rule, and a file that passes says nothing about whether the buyer or the Peppol network will accept it. Licences for the quoted wordings are listed in our sources.