What it means
This rule checks for cac:Address within cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PayeeFinancialAccount/cac:FinancialInstitutionBranch/cac:FinancialInstitution in a UBL invoice or credit note. EN 16931 carries the bank identifier (BT-86), but not an address for this financial institution. The address of the branch itself is covered by UBL-CR-432.
Why it matters
EN 16931 does not use the financial institution's address in the payment account details. This warning concerns only the address at this XML location.
How to fix it
Delete cac:Address from cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PayeeFinancialAccount/cac:FinancialInstitutionBranch/cac:FinancialInstitution. If your invoicing software adds it, adjust the XML export to omit this address block. The seller's own address (BG-5) is separate and stays as it is. Export again and recheck the file.
Once the file is corrected, check it again for free: Validate an invoice against EN 16931
Or fix the invoice in a form and download the corrected file, for 1 credit: Fix a rejected e-invoice
The rule as published
A UBL invoice should not include the PaymentMeans PayeeFinancialAccount FinancialInstitutionBranch FinancialInstitution Address Where this rule applies
| Rule set | Version |
|---|---|
| EN 16931 (UBL) | 1.3.17 |
| EN 16931 (UBL credit note) | 1.3.17 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (UBL) | 3.0.2 |
| XRechnung 3.0 (UBL credit note) | 3.0.2 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (invoice) | 2026.5 |
| Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (credit note) | 2026.5 |
| SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (invoice) | 2.0.3.13 |
| SI-UBL 2.0 / NLCIUS (credit note) | 2.0.3.13 |
| France CTC (UBL invoice) | 1.4.0-04 |
| France CTC (UBL credit note) | 1.4.0-04 |
| CIUS-RO UBL Invoice 1.0.9 | 1.0.9 |
| CIUS-RO UBL Credit Note 1.0.9 | 1.0.9 |
Check your file
Drop your e-invoice to see whether UBL-CR-431 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- UBL-CR-432 A bank branch address is not used in EN 16931 payment details
- UBL-CR-433 The country of the payee bank account is not used
- UBL-CR-434 A credit account block is not used in EN 16931
- UBL-CR-435 A direct debit mandate type is not used
- UBL-CR-436 A maximum number of direct debit instructions is not used
- UBL-CR-437 A maximum direct debit amount is not used