Rule at a Glance
| ID | Severity | Context (XPath) |
|---|---|---|
| Series ref. BR-80 | Fatal (error) | /ubl:Invoice | /cn:CreditNote |
| Schematron ID: ibr-100 | Field: ibt-030 — Seller legal registration identifier | ||
Classification
Master Data — a cardinality constraint on the identifier that ties the invoice to a registered legal person.
What the Rule Is Checking
The assert is count(cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyLegalEntity/cbc:CompanyID) <= 1. One occurrence or none passes. Two fail fatally.
Under the UAE jurisdiction rules the field is rarely optional in practice. ibr-150-ae requires the seller legal registration identifier whenever the seller endpoint scheme identifier is 0235 — which is the UAE Corporate Tax TIN scheme used across domestic transmission — so most UAE sellers must populate it exactly once rather than zero times.
Why This Rule Exists
This identifier is how the document asserts which registered entity made the supply, and the assertion has to be singular to be defensible. Two identifiers on one invoice describe two registrations, which either means the document is wrong about who supplied or that the sender has attached a second registration for information. Neither is something the recipient or the authority can resolve by inspection, and the mirrored copy the FTA receives would carry the same ambiguity.
The UAE layer adds a typing obligation on top. Under ibr-181-ae, when the scheme identifier is 0235 and a legal registration identifier is present, the seller legal registration identifier type (BTAE-15) must also be present; ibr-173-ae constrains that type to Commercial/Trade licence, Emirates ID, Passport or Cabinet decision. A single identifier can carry a single declared type. Two cannot without breaking the pairing those rules assume.
Standard / Code List
The scheme attribute on the identifier (ibt-030-1) is governed by ibr-cl-11, which requires a value from the ISO 6523 ICD list. The UAE examples use schemeAgencyID="TL" with the agency named as the trade licence issuing authority, and ibr-172-ae requires that authority name (BTAE-12) to be present when the type is Commercial/Trade licence.
UAE Data Example
PASSES ✓ — a mainland LLC identified by its trade licence:
<cac:PartyLegalEntity>
<cbc:RegistrationName>Gulf Facilities Management LLC</cbc:RegistrationName>
<cbc:CompanyID schemeAgencyID="TL"
schemeAgencyName="Trade License issuing Authority">112345678900003</cbc:CompanyID>
</cac:PartyLegalEntity>FAILS ✗ — a trade licence and an Emirates ID emitted together because both sit on the master record:
<cbc:CompanyID schemeAgencyID="TL">112345678900003</cbc:CompanyID>
<cbc:CompanyID schemeAgencyID="EID">784198712345671</cbc:CompanyID>A sole establishment holding both a trade licence and an Emirates ID has to choose which one identifies the seller on the invoice, and then declare the matching type in BTAE-15.
What Your ERP / IT Team Must Ensure
- Store one registration identifier per selling entity in the company-code or legal-entity master, with the type recorded alongside it rather than inferred at extract time.
- Where a free zone entity and its mainland branch both trade, treat them as separate seller records rather than two identifiers on one.
- Populate BTAE-15 in the same mapping step, since ibr-181-ae makes it mandatory once the identifier is present under scheme 0235.
- Populate the issuing authority name where the type is Commercial/Trade licence, as ibr-172-ae requires it.
- Validate the scheme attribute against the ISO 6523 ICD list before transmission rather than after a rejection.
Related Rules
ibr-150-ae makes this identifier mandatory under scheme 0235. ibr-181-ae and ibr-173-ae govern the accompanying type. ibr-172-ae requires the issuing authority name for trade licences. ibr-cl-11 constrains the scheme attribute. ibr-103 applies the same cardinality limit to the buyer.