CII-SR-278: Do not name a sales agent in the invoice header

What it means

The invoice header contains a SalesAgentTradeParty element, which names an agent who sold the goods or services for the seller. EN 16931 has no sales agent party. The seller (BG-4) is the party that issues the invoice.

Why it matters

This is only a warning, so the file is still accepted. The agent's details have no field in the EN 16931 data model, so the buyer's software will not read them and anything the buyer should know about the agent is lost.

How to fix it

Check whether your invoicing software has a sales agent, representative or commission field on the invoice, and stop it being exported. If the buyer needs to know about the agent, say so in words in the invoice note (BT-22). Keep the seller as the party that issues the invoice.

The rule as published

SalesAgentTradeParty should not be present

Where this rule applies