CII-SR-251: Leave out the buyer's legal form code

What it means

Inside the buyer's legal organisation block, the LegalClassificationCode element must be absent. That block exists to carry the buyer's trading name (BT-45) and company registration number (BT-47). The standard has no field for the legal form. 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 recipient's software reads only the fields the standard defines, so the code is ignored and tells the buyer nothing. Fix it if you want a file with no warnings, or if the buyer's platform asks for one.

How to fix it

Your invoicing software probably fills the code from a legal form or company type field on the customer record. Clear that field, or switch off the option that exports it. Keep the company registration number, which is a separate field. If you edit the XML yourself, delete LegalClassificationCode inside the buyer's SpecifiedLegalOrganization.

The rule as published

LegalClassificationCode should not be present

Where this rule applies