What it means
In a UBL invoice or credit note, this rule checks that cac:BillingReference contains no cac:CreditNoteDocumentReference. EN 16931 uses cac:InvoiceDocumentReference for the preceding document's number (BT-25) and date (BT-26). The check applies to both invoices and credit notes.
Why it matters
The EN 16931 UBL mapping uses cac:InvoiceDocumentReference rather than a separate reference element for an earlier credit note.
How to fix it
Remove cac:CreditNoteDocumentReference from cac:BillingReference. If you need to retain the reference, put the same earlier document's number (BT-25) in cac:BillingReference/cac:InvoiceDocumentReference/cbc:ID and any supplied invoice date (BT-26) in cbc:IssueDate within that block. Do not substitute a different invoice merely to satisfy this check. Check the corrected file again.
Once the file is corrected, check it again for free: Validate an invoice against EN 16931
Or fix the invoice in a form and download the corrected file, for 1 credit: Fix a rejected e-invoice
The rule as published
A UBL invoice should not include the BillingReference CreditNoteDocumentReference Where this rule applies
| Rule set | Version |
|---|---|
| EN 16931 (UBL) | 1.3.17 |
| EN 16931 (UBL credit note) | 1.3.17 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (UBL) | 3.0.2 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (UBL credit note) | 3.0.2 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (invoice) | 2026.5 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (credit note) | 2026.5 |
| SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (invoice) | 2.0.3.13 |
| SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (credit note) | 2.0.3.13 |
| France CTC (UBL invoice) | 1.4.0-04 |
| France CTC (UBL credit note) | 1.4.0-04 |
| CIUS-RO UBL Invoice 1.0.9 | 1.0.9 |
| CIUS-RO UBL Credit Note 1.0.9 | 1.0.9 |
Check your file
Drop your e-invoice to see whether UBL-CR-039 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- UBL-CR-040 Do not use the self-billed credit note reference
- UBL-CR-041 The billing reference should not include a debit note reference
- UBL-CR-042 The billing reference should not include a reminder reference
- UBL-CR-043 The billing reference should not include additional documents
- UBL-CR-044 The billing reference should not include billing reference lines
- UBL-CR-045 The despatch reference should not say whether it is a copy