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Warning

UBL-CR-524: A line period should not carry a text description

In short

Warning: worth checking.

UBL-CR-524 means the period of an invoice or credit note line contains a free-text description (cbc:Description), which EN 16931 does not use there. It is a warning; remove the description from the line period. If you need the text, move it to the line note (BT-127) or item description (BT-154), then recheck the file.

On this page

What it means

This rule looks at every invoice or credit note line and warns if its line period (BG-26), cac:InvoicePeriod, contains cbc:Description. It does not require both a start date (BT-134) and an end date (BT-135).

Why it matters

There is no field for a description inside a line period. It is worth fixing when the text matters to the buyer.

How to fix it

Open the line in your invoicing software and look at the period fields. Keep any start and end dates. If the text matters, such as the month a subscription covers, put it in the line note (BT-127) or in the item description (BT-154) instead. In the XML, delete cbc:Description from cac:InvoicePeriod inside cac:InvoiceLine (cac:CreditNoteLine in a credit note). 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 InvoiceLine InvoicePeriod Description

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-524 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026