Fix BR-DE-26: Corrected invoice without preceding invoice reference (BG-3)

What does BR-DE-26 mean?

If the element Invoice type code (BT-3) carries the code 384 (Corrected invoice), PRECEDING INVOICE REFERENCE BG-3 should appear at least once. The rule comes from KoSIT (XRechnung) and is a warning: the invoice stays valid.

Common causes of BR-DE-26

• The invoice carries code 384 (corrected invoice) but does not name the invoice it corrects.
• The number of the earlier invoice appears only in the text or on the PDF, not in 'ram:InvoiceReferencedDocument'.

How to fix BR-DE-26

1. Find the faulty spot in the XML. Open the XML of the invoice and go to field BT-3 along this XPath://ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement/ram:InvoiceReferencedDocument/ram:IssuerAssignedID
2. Apply the fix. For invoice type 384 (Corrected invoice), state the preceding invoice (PRECEDING INVOICE REFERENCE, BG-3) in 'ram:InvoiceReferencedDocument/ram:IssuerAssignedID'.
3. Validate again. Save the file and validate it again to check that BR-DE-26 is no longer reported.

Frequent questions about BR-DE-26

Related error codes

Check BR-DE-26 automatically

Instead of digging through the XML by hand you can validate your ZUGFeRD or XRechnung file online: upload the PDF or the XML and you get every error with rule ID, affected field, fix and XPath, as a readable report or as JSON through the API.