What it means
The payment means code (BT-81) can carry a short text (BT-82), such as "Bank transfer", in its name attribute. The check allows this text at most once in the whole invoice, even if there are several payment means blocks (cac:PaymentMeans).
Why it matters
EN 16931 has one field for the payment means text.
How to fix it
Check the payment method settings in your invoicing software. If you list more than one way to pay, make sure only one of them has a description. If you build the XML yourself, keep the name attribute on one cbc:PaymentMeansCode and remove it from the others. The text is optional, so you can also drop it everywhere.
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 means text 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 |
Check your file
Drop your e-invoice to see whether UBL-SR-46 still fails, and which other rules do.
Related rules
- UBL-SR-47 All payment means codes on an invoice must be the same
- UBL-SR-48 Every line must have exactly one VAT category
- UBL-SR-49 The VAT point date code can only be given once
- UBL-SR-50 A line can have only one item description
- UBL-SR-51 An address can have only one third address line
- UBL-SR-52 A line can have only one document reference