CII-SR-478: The total of invoice charges may appear only once

What it means

The totals section (SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation) holds the sum of the charges on the whole invoice (BT-108), such as freight or packaging, in the element ChargeTotalAmount. The check allows it at most once.

Why it matters

This figure is added to the sum of the lines to get the invoice total excluding VAT. With two values the recipient cannot tell which one to add, so the totals do not reconcile. This is a fatal error and the invoice is rejected.

How to fix it

Your invoicing software normally adds up the charges itself, so a repeated figure is usually an export fault or a hand edit. Create and export the invoice again and run the check once more. If you edit the XML yourself, delete the extra ChargeTotalAmount and keep the one that equals the charges on the whole invoice (BT-99) added together.

The rule as published

ChargeTotalAmount shall occur at most once in SpecifiedTradeSettlementHeaderMonetarySummation.

Where this rule applies