What it means
The rule warns if cac:DocumentReference inside cac:InvoiceLine or cac:CreditNoteLine contains cbc:IssueTime, the time of day the referenced document was issued. It does not check the invoiced object identifier (BT-128) in cbc:ID or the document type code 130 in cbc:DocumentTypeCode.
Why it matters
The standard has no field for a time on a line reference. It is worth fixing when you want a file without warnings.
How to fix it
Remove the issue time from the line's object or document reference. In the XML, delete cbc:IssueTime from cac:DocumentReference inside cac:InvoiceLine (cac:CreditNoteLine in a credit note). If your invoicing software adds this element, ask its maker to omit it from the UBL export. 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 DocumentReference IssueTime 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-535 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- UBL-CR-537 A line document reference should not carry a text document type
- UBL-CR-538 A line document reference should not carry an XPath
- UBL-CR-539 A line document reference should not carry a language
- UBL-CR-540 A line document reference should not carry a locale code
- UBL-CR-541 A line document reference should not carry a version
- UBL-CR-542 A line document reference should not carry a status code