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Warning

UBL-CR-443: The debited bank account must not have a format code

In short

Warning: worth checking.

UBL-CR-443 warns that your UBL invoice or credit note includes an account format code (cbc:AccountFormatCode) on the account to be debited under a payment mandate. Remove that element from the XML and recheck the file.

On this page

What it means

This rule checks that cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PaymentMandate/cac:PayerFinancialAccount contains no cbc:AccountFormatCode element. It applies whether the element contains a value or is empty.

Why it matters

EN 16931 does not use an account format code in its UBL direct debit details (BG-19).

How to fix it

Remove cbc:AccountFormatCode from cac:PaymentMeans/cac:PaymentMandate/cac:PayerFinancialAccount. Keep the account identifier (BT-91) in cbc:ID and the mandate reference (BT-89) in cac:PaymentMandate/cbc:ID. If your software adds the element automatically, ask its supplier to omit it from the XML export. Recheck the resulting 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 PaymentMandate PayerFinancialAccount AccountFormatCode

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
Rule text from phive-rules 4.6.4.

Check your file

Drop your e-invoice to see whether UBL-CR-443 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026