# BR-CO-03

> Value added tax point date (BT-7) and Value added tax point date code (BT-8) are mutually exclusive.

Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5

Canonical: https://einvoicecheck.eu/rules/br-co-03

## Official rule text

Value added tax point date (BT-7) and Value added tax point date code (BT-8) are mutually exclusive.

## Why did my invoice fail BR-CO-03?

The VAT point date (BT-7), an explicit date, and the VAT point date code (BT-8), a code that derives the date from another event, are two ways of expressing when VAT becomes chargeable and must not both be present. Supplying both is contradictory, so at most one may appear on the invoice.

## Common causes

- Mapping software populates both an explicit tax point date and a date code from source data.
- A template sets a default BT-8 code while the exporter also writes an actual BT-7 date.
- Confusion between the delivery/invoice date and the VAT point representation.
- Both cbc:TaxPointDate and the InvoicePeriod DescriptionCode being emitted.

## How do I fix it?

```
Keep only one. Either use an explicit date <cbc:TaxPointDate>2026-07-04</cbc:TaxPointDate> and remove the code, or use the code <cac:InvoicePeriod><cbc:DescriptionCode>3</cbc:DescriptionCode></cac:InvoicePeriod> and remove TaxPointDate.
```