CII-DT-072: Write the invoicing period end as a plain date

What it means

The invoicing period (BG-14), or the period on a line (BG-26), sits in BillingSpecifiedPeriod. Its end date (BT-74, or BT-135 on a line) goes in EndDateTime. This rule checks that EndDateTime does not hold a DateTime element, which is a full date and time value. EN 16931 uses the plain date form, DateTimeString.

Why it matters

The standard fixes the form in which this date is written so that every receiving system reads it the same way. An end date written another way does not meet it, so the file fails and is rejected.

How to fix it

Look in the e-invoice or XML export settings of your invoicing software and choose the standard EN 16931 output. If you build the XML yourself, replace the DateTime element inside EndDateTime with DateTimeString, set its format attribute to 102 and write the date as YYYYMMDD. Check the start date in the same way, as it has its own rule.

The rule as published

DateTime shall not be used.

Where this rule applies