BR-27EN 16931fatalbusiness

The Item net price (BT-146) shall NOT be negative.

Fix: This requires user input to resolve. Provide the correct value for `cbc:PriceAmount` (BT-146). Upload your invoice to fix this automatically.

The Item net price (BT-146) shall NOT be negative.. Review the `cbc:PriceAmount` element.

Where is this in my invoice?

Shown on a sample invoice. The marked row is the field this rule checks; on your own invoice it sits in the same place.

Sample invoice · not your document

Invoice

SAMPLE-INV-001 · issued 4 Jan 2026 · due 4 Feb 2026 · EUR

Seller

Seller nameSample Supplier B.V.

Seller streetHerengracht 100

Seller postcode1015 BS

Seller cityAmsterdam

Seller countryNL

Seller VAT numberNL123456789B01

Seller registration number12345678

Seller electronic addressNL123456789B01

Buyer

Buyer nameSample Buyer NV

Buyer streetRue de la Loi 42

Buyer postcode1000

Buyer cityBrussels

Buyer countryBE

Buyer VAT numberBE0123456789

Buyer electronic addressBE0123456789

Invoice details

Invoice numberSAMPLE-INV-001

Issue date4 Jan 2026

Due date4 Feb 2026

Invoice type380

CurrencyEUR

Buyer referencePO-12345

Payment

Payment method30

Payment IBANNL91ABNA0417164300

Line items

No.	Item	Quantity	Unit price	VAT rate (%)	Line amount
1	Consulting Services	1	€100.00 BR-27	21%	€100.00

Totals

Sum of line amounts€100.00

Total without VAT€100.00

Total VAT€21.00

Total with VAT€121.00

Amount due€121.00

VAT breakdown

VAT category	VAT rate (%)	Taxable amount	VAT amount
S	21%	€100.00	€21.00

How to Fix It

Add trading name

In PartyName/Name for trading name

Or legal name

In PartyLegalEntity/RegistrationName for legal name

Best practice

Include both for clarity

See this rule against your own invoice: every finding is pinned to the row it concerns.

Check your invoice Run this check in CI

Severity

Fatal

Rule set

EN 16931

Country

All EU

Fix type

Auto-fix

Confidence

90%

Engine Classification

Auto-fix by taking the absolute value of the negative net price. BT-146 must be >= 0 per EN16931.

Confidence: 90% · Applied automatically in pipeline

What is BR-27?

BR-27 is a fatal validation rule defined in the EN 16931 specification. It validates the RegistrationName element under PartyName > Name or cac:PartyLegalEntity in the UBL invoice XML.

When this rule fires, the invoice is rejected by Peppol access points and never reaches the buyer.

Target path: XPath: /Invoice/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyName/cbc:Name or cac:PartyLegalEntity/cbc:RegistrationName

Why This Error Matters

Invoice rejected. Negative prices are invalid - use credit notes or negative quantities for refunds.

BR-27 is a hard failure — the invoice must be corrected and re-sent before it can reach the recipient.

Invoice Navigator can automatically correct this error in your pipeline. The fix is applied with full audit evidence, so your compliance trail remains intact.

Validator Behavior

·Causes invoice rejection
·Error returned: BR-27
·Specification: EN 16931

Before / After

Failing XML

<cac:Price>
  <cbc:PriceAmount>-100.00</cbc:PriceAmount>
</cac:Price>

Corrected XML

<cac:Price>
  <cbc:PriceAmount>100.00</cbc:PriceAmount>
</cac:Price>

Technical Reference

XPath

XPath: /Invoice/cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyName/cbc:Name or cac:PartyLegalEntity/cbc:RegistrationName

SpecEN 16931

StrategyAuto-fix by taking the absolute value of the negative net price. BT-146 must be >= 0 per EN16931.

Code Example

<cac:Party>
  <cac:PartyName>
    <cbc:Name>ABC Trading Ltd</cbc:Name>
  </cac:PartyName>
  <cac:PartyLegalEntity>
    <cbc:RegistrationName>ABC Trading Limited</cbc:RegistrationName>
  </cac:PartyLegalEntity>
</cac:Party>

Common Causes

·Negative price entered in source system by mistake
·Credit adjustment applied at line level incorrectly
·Discount exceeds gross price creating negative net
·Currency conversion resulted in sign error
·Data import from legacy system with sign convention issue

Seeing this in production? The API handles BR-27 automatically. See the fix response →

Commonly Seen In

All invoicing software

Frequently Asked Questions

The seller must have either a trading name or legal registration name.

This requires user input to resolve. Provide the correct value for `cbc:PriceAmount` (BT-146). Invoice Navigator detects this error and prompts for the required business data before applying a safe fix.

Yes, BR-27 is a critical error that will cause invoice rejection. It must be fixed before submission to ensure your invoice is accepted by the recipient's system.

BR-27 requires specific business data to resolve. Invoice Navigator detects the error and guides you through providing the needed information, then applies the fix with full audit documentation.

BR-27 is commonly seen in exports from All invoicing software. These software packages sometimes generate invoices that need adjustment to meet full compliance standards.

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