Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 · rule

UBL-CR-673

Layer en16931·Checked against Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 2026.5

What does UBL-CR-673 mean? A UBL invoice shall not include an AdditionalDocumentReference simultaneously referring an Invoice Object Identifier and an Document Description

Why did my invoice fail UBL-CR-673?

An AdditionalDocumentReference element must not carry both an Invoice Object Identifier (BT-18, an ID with DocumentTypeCode 130) and a Document Description at the same time. EN 16931 maps these to two different business terms with different cardinalities, so mixing them in one AdditionalDocumentReference makes the invoice ambiguous. Use separate cac:AdditionalDocumentReference elements: one for the invoiced object identifier, another for a supporting document with its description.

Official rule text

A UBL invoice shall not include an AdditionalDocumentReference simultaneously referring an Invoice Object Identifier and an Document Description

Common causes

A single AdditionalDocumentReference reuses the invoiced-object reference (DocumentTypeCode 130) and also adds a cbc:DocumentDescription
Mapping software merges all document references into one element
Copying a supporting-document structure and adding DocumentTypeCode 130 without removing the description

How do I fix it?

<cac:AdditionalDocumentReference>
  <cbc:ID>ABT123-10</cbc:ID>
  <cbc:DocumentTypeCode>130</cbc:DocumentTypeCode>
</cac:AdditionalDocumentReference>
<cac:AdditionalDocumentReference>
  <cbc:ID>DOC-1</cbc:ID>
  <cbc:DocumentDescription>Timesheet</cbc:DocumentDescription>
</cac:AdditionalDocumentReference>

Check your invoice against this rule

Paste it into the live demo, or call POST /v1/validate. See the quickstart.