Invoice type (BT-3) holds a value that is not accepted

What does this mean?

Field BT-3 takes a value from the UN/CEFACT 1001 list, and the set adopted in Saudi Arabia is three values: 388 tax invoice, 381 credit note, 383 debit note.

What is not on the list: there is no cancelled-invoice type and no amended-invoice type. A correction in Phase 2 happens through a credit note or a debit note that references the original invoice, not by editing it and not by deleting it.

Why does it happen?

Ordered from the most common to the least — your cause is most likely the first or the second.

• Sending a code from the full UN/CEFACT list that is not adopted in Saudi Arabia.
• Trying to represent a cancellation with a special code instead of a credit note.
• Confusing BT-3 (document type) with KSA-2 (transaction code) and sending the value of one in the field of the other.

How to fix it

2 steps, then send the invoice again.

1. 1
   Use the three values and nothing else

   388 for an invoice, 381 to reduce an amount or cancel it, 383 to increase an amount.

2. 2
   To cancel: a credit note for the full amount

   Issue a credit note (381) for the full value of the invoice and reference the original invoice number in field BT-25, which is mandatory — see BR-KSA-56. For the detail: credit and debit notes.

Once corrected, send the invoice again. A rejected invoice was never recorded with the Authority, so it needs no credit note — send the corrected invoice itself.

Frequently asked questions