BR-DE-13Error — invoice will be rejectedxrechnung

XRechnung BR-DE-13 (legacy): delivery date or invoice period

Note: BR-DE-13 is no longer part of the current XRechnung 3.x rule set — modern validators do not emit this code. Historically it covered the recommendation to provide either the actual delivery date (BT-72) or an invoice period (BG-14). That information is still good practice but is now checked through the EN 16931 core rather than a dedicated BR-DE rule.

Last updated: 2026-06-01

Affected field

cac:Delivery/cbc:ActualDeliveryDate (BT-72) or cac:InvoicePeriod/cbc:StartDate + EndDate (BG-14)

Cause

The invoicing system does not export a delivery date (common for service invoices) and no invoice period is set.

Fix

Add either the delivery date (for goods) or the invoice period start/end dates (for services or ongoing deliveries).

Incorrect example
<!-- No Delivery and no InvoicePeriod element present -->
Correct example
<!-- Option 1: Delivery date -->
<cac:Delivery>
  <cbc:ActualDeliveryDate>2026-05-15</cbc:ActualDeliveryDate>
</cac:Delivery>

<!-- Option 2: Invoice period -->
<cac:InvoicePeriod>
  <cbc:StartDate>2026-05-01</cbc:StartDate>
  <cbc:EndDate>2026-05-31</cbc:EndDate>
</cac:InvoicePeriod>

Check your invoice for this and other errors.

Validate your invoice →

Mandate context

Frequently asked questions

What about service invoices?

For services there is usually no physical delivery date. Use the invoice period (InvoicePeriod) with start and end dates instead.

Can I use the invoice date as the delivery date?

Technically yes, but it is not semantically correct. Use the actual date the service was performed or goods were delivered.

Related error codes