What it means
An invoice can say which date decides when the VAT becomes due by giving a VAT point date code (BT-8). Peppol accepts three UNCL 2005 codes: 3 for the invoice date, 35 for the delivery date and 432 for the date of payment. Any other value fails, including words such as "invoice" and dates.
Why it matters
The code tells the recipient which date fixes the VAT period.
How to fix it
Set the VAT point date code (BT-8) to 3 for the invoice date, 35 for the delivery date or 432 for the payment date, as appropriate. You can also leave the code out. If you build the XML yourself, the code is cbc:DescriptionCode inside cac:InvoicePeriod. If you omit the code, remove cbc:DescriptionCode rather than leaving an empty element.
Once the file is corrected, check it again for free: Validate a Peppol BIS invoice
Or fix the invoice in a form and download the corrected file, for 1 credit: Fix a rejected e-invoice
The rule as published
Read the rule on the publisher's site
Where this rule applies
| Rule set | Version |
|---|---|
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (invoice) | 2026.5 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (credit note) | 2026.5 |
Check your file
Drop your e-invoice to see whether PEPPOL-EN16931-CL006 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- PEPPOL-EN16931-CL007 Amounts must use a valid ISO 4217 currency code
- PEPPOL-EN16931-CL008 Electronic address scheme must be on the Peppol code list
- PEPPOL-EN16931-CL003 Charge reason code must be a valid UNCL 7161 code
- PEPPOL-EN16931-CL002 Discount reason code must be on the allowed list
- PEPPOL-EN16931-CL001 Attachments must use an allowed file type