CII-SR-246: No extra tax details in the seller's tax registration

What it means

The seller's tax registration is the block that holds the seller's VAT number (BT-31) or tax number (BT-32). It must not contain an AssociatedRegisteredTax element. That element is meant for extra tax details, and EN 16931 has no field for them. The same restriction applies in the CII rules for XRechnung, NLCIUS and the French CTC rules.

Why it matters

This is a warning, so the file is still accepted. The standard gives the element no meaning, so the buyer's software is free to ignore it and anything inside it can be lost. It is worth fixing if the warning appears on every invoice you send, or if the buyer or their e-invoicing platform asks for files without warnings.

How to fix it

The element is written by your invoicing software. Look in your company or tax settings for an option that adds extra tax information next to your VAT number, and switch it off. If your software offers an export type such as EN 16931 or XRechnung, choose that. If you edit the XML yourself, delete the AssociatedRegisteredTax element and keep the ID element beside it, which carries the number (scheme VA for a VAT number, FC for a tax number).

The rule as published

AssociatedRegisteredTax should not be present

Where this rule applies