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Warning

UBL-CR-467: Do not give a penalty period in the payment terms

In short

Warning: worth checking.

UBL-CR-467 means the payment terms contain a penalty period (PenaltyPeriod), which EN 16931 does not use. Remove it and state any late payment penalty in the payment terms text (BT-20).

On this page

What it means

The rule warns when the payment terms block (cac:PaymentTerms) of the invoice or credit note holds a cac:PenaltyPeriod. In UBL this is the period during which a penalty for late payment may apply. EN 16931 has no structured penalty terms, only the payment terms text (BT-20). This is a warning.

Why it matters

EN 16931 does not use cac:PenaltyPeriod in cac:PaymentTerms.

How to fix it

If late payment carries a penalty, write it in plain words in the payment terms text (BT-20), with the rate or amount and when it starts. Then delete cac:PenaltyPeriod from cac:PaymentTerms in the XML. If your invoicing software has a separate field for penalties, copy its content into the payment terms text and leave the period empty. Check the corrected file again.

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 PaymentTerms PenaltyPeriod

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-467 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026