CII-SR-388: Do not give invoice-level discounts or charges an ID

What it means

A discount or charge on the whole invoice (SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge in the settlement section) contains an ID element, an identifier for that discount or charge. EN 16931 describes an invoice-level discount (BG-20) or charge (BG-21) by its amount, percentage, base amount, reason and VAT category, and has no identifier for it. This rule looks only at the whole invoice, not at a single line.

Why it matters

This is a warning, so the file is still accepted. The buyer's software ignores the identifier, and the amounts and totals are not affected. It is worth fixing to keep the file clean, or when the ID was meant to tell the buyer what the discount or charge is for.

How to fix it

Delete the ID element from each SpecifiedTradeAllowanceCharge in the settlement section. If the ID was there to say what the discount or charge is for, give a reason instead: the reason text (BT-97 for a discount, BT-104 for a charge) or the reason code (BT-98 or BT-105). In your invoicing software, look for a code or reference field on the invoice-level discount or charge.

The rule as published

ID should not be present

Where this rule applies