Reference
Markdown exportBR-DE-26 Corrected invoice must reference at least one preceding invoice
Under German XRechnung rule BR-DE-26, when an invoice is issued with InvoiceTypeCode 384 (Corrected invoice / Korrigierte Rechnung), it must include at least one preceding invoice reference group (BG-3 / PRECEDING INVOICE REFERENCE) specifying the previous invoice identifier in BT-25 (PrecedingInvoiceReference). In German accounting and tax law (§ 14c UStG / GoBD), a corrective billing document cannot stand alone without an explicit reference linking it to the original commercial invoice being adjusted or corrected.
Problem Description
Under German XRechnung rule BR-DE-26, when an invoice is issued with InvoiceTypeCode 384 (Corrected invoice / Korrigierte Rechnung), it must include at least one preceding invoice reference group (BG-3 / PRECEDING INVOICE REFERENCE) specifying the previous invoice identifier in BT-25 (PrecedingInvoiceReference). In German accounting and tax law (§ 14c UStG / GoBD), a corrective billing document cannot stand alone without an explicit reference linking it to the original commercial invoice being adjusted or corrected.
ERROR
XRechnung 3.0
Context and Significance
An invoice with InvoiceTypeCode 384 without a preceding invoice reference violates German XRechnung rule BR-DE-26 and fails KoSIT validation.
Solution
In your ERP billing module, when generating a corrected invoice (type 384), populate the preceding invoice reference with the original invoice number (BT-25) and optionally the issue date (BT-26). In UBL 2.1 syntax, populate <cac:BillingReference><cac:InvoiceDocumentReference><cbc:ID>INV-2025-001</cbc:ID><cbc:IssueDate>2025-12-15</cbc:IssueDate></cac:InvoiceDocumentReference></cac:BillingReference>. In UN/CEFACT CII syntax, populate <ram:InvoiceReferencedDocument><ram:IssuerAssignedID>INV-2025-001</ram:IssuerAssignedID><ram:FormattedIssueDateTime>...</ram:FormattedIssueDateTime></ram:InvoiceReferencedDocument> under <ram:ApplicableHeaderTradeSettlement>. If the document is a standard commercial invoice, set InvoiceTypeCode to 380 (Commercial invoice) instead.
Quick actions
Valid Examples
Use these points as the practical checks for this section.
- Corrected invoice (type 384) referencing preceding invoice "INV-2025-001" (BT-25)
- Corrected invoice referencing preceding invoice with issue date 2025-11-30 (BT-26)
Invalid Examples
Use these points as the practical checks for this section.
- Invoice with cbc:InvoiceTypeCode = 384 completely omits cac:BillingReference
- Corrected invoice declares cac:BillingReference without cbc:ID in InvoiceDocumentReference
Code Examples
<cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>384</cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>
<cac:BillingReference>
<cac:InvoiceDocumentReference>
<cbc:ID>INV-2025-001</cbc:ID>
<cbc:IssueDate>2025-12-15</cbc:IssueDate>
</cac:InvoiceDocumentReference>
</cac:BillingReference><cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>384</cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>
<!-- Missing cac:BillingReference (BG-3 / BT-25) for corrected invoice type 384 -->