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Warning

UBL-CR-572: The buyer's item number should not have a barcode type

In short

Warning: worth checking.

UBL-CR-572 means the buyer's item identification on an invoice or credit note line contains a barcode symbology (cbc:BarcodeSymbologyID), which EN 16931 does not use. It is only a warning. Remove it and keep the number itself.

On this page

What it means

The buyer's item number (BT-156) goes in cbc:ID inside cac:BuyersItemIdentification. On every invoice or credit note line, cac:BuyersItemIdentification should not contain cbc:BarcodeSymbologyID, which identifies a barcode type such as EAN-13 or Code 128. The check targets cbc:BarcodeSymbologyID regardless of whether cbc:ID is present.

Why it matters

The EN 16931 UBL rules do not use a separate barcode type inside the buyer's item identification.

How to fix it

If your invoicing software lets you choose a barcode type for the buyer's article number, leave it empty or turn off that export. The number itself stays in the normal item number field. If you build the XML yourself, delete cbc:BarcodeSymbologyID from cac:BuyersItemIdentification on each line.

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 Item BuyersItemIdentification BarcodeSymbologyID

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-572 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026