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Fatal

UBL-SR-05: Payment terms can be given only once

In short

Fatal: fails the selected checks.

UBL-SR-05 means the invoice has more than one payment terms text (BT-20). Merge them into one short text and export the invoice again.

On this page

What it means

Payment terms (BT-20) is a free-text description of how and when the buyer should pay, such as "Net 30 days" or "2% discount if paid within 10 days". The rule counts the cbc:Note elements inside cac:PaymentTerms and allows one. Two notes in one block, or two payment terms blocks with a note each, both fail. The due date (BT-9) is a separate field and is not counted.

Why it matters

Payment terms are one text field in EN 16931.

How to fix it

Open the payment terms field in your invoicing software and combine everything into one note, for example "Net 30 days. 2% discount if paid within 10 days." Check whether your software creates a separate note for each discount tier or instalment, and merge them if it does. In the XML, keep a single cbc:Note in cac:PaymentTerms.

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

Payment terms shall occur maximum once

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-SR-05 still fails, and which other rules do.

Updated 6 November 2026