Credit note

To improve readability, maintain consistency, and enhance interoperability, we use the UBL 2.4 CreditNote schema to represent credit notes and cancel invoices (complete invoice reversals). The CreditNote schema uses mostly the same fields as the Invoice schema. This section indicates the dedicated elements for credit memos and cancellations.

1.0 Credit note type code

Identifier of the document type. We use 381 to represent Credit Note and Cancel Invoice.

Path	Description	Example
cbc:CreditNoteTypeCode	Type of the invoice. Supported values: 381 for Credit Note, 381 for Cancel Invoice	381

Example

<CreditNote>
  ...
  <cbc:CreditNoteTypeCode>381</cbc:CreditNoteTypeCode>
  ...
</CreditNote>

2.0 Invoice document reference

The BillingReference/InvoiceDocumentReference section provides information related to the original invoice for invoice memos and cancellations. This element is repeated when several invoice references are present (e.g., Google commercial invoice ID, vendor generated ID, tax authority generated reference). The attribute schemeID is used to identify the invoice issuer.

Path	Description	Example
cbc:ID	Preceding invoice number - Identifier of a previously issued invoice	GCEMEAD000000099
cbc:ID @schemeID	Identifier of the type of the invoice issuer	Google, Vendor, local tax authority
cbc:IssueDate	Issue date - Issue date of the previously issued invoice. The format is "YYYY-MM-DD"	2023-05-28

<CreditNote>
  ...
  <cac:BillingReference>
    <cac:InvoiceDocumentReference>
      <cbc:ID schemeID="Google">GCEMEAD000000099</cbc:ID>
      <cbc:IssueDate>2023-05-28</cbc:IssueDate>
    </cac:InvoiceDocumentReference>
  </cac:BillingReference>
  ...
</CreditNote>

3.0 Credit note line items

Line items are individual goods or services enumerated in the credit note. The schema supports one or multiple credit note line items per credit note document.

3.1 cac:CreditNoteLine

This section details each item or service for which a credit is issued, including unique identifiers, credited quantities, and unit prices. It provides a complete breakdown of the amounts before taxes associated with each credited line item.

Path	Description	Example
cbc:ID	Unique identifier for this line item; for an aggregated line item invoice the value is 1	1
cbc:CreditedQuantity	Quantity of the item credited; for an aggregated line item the value is 1	1
cbc:LineExtensionAmount @currencyID	Total amount for the line item in the original currency, excluding taxes	1000
cac:Item/cbc:Name	Name of the item	Google Cloud
cac:Price/cbc:PriceAmount @currencyID	Unit price of the item in the original currency	1000

<CreditNote>
  ...
  <cac:CreditNoteLine>
    <cbc:ID>1</cbc:ID>
    <cbc:CreditedQuantity>1</cbc:CreditedQuantity>
    <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="USD">1000</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
    <cac:Item>
      <cbc:Name>Google Cloud</cbc:Name>
    </cac:Item>
    <cac:Price>
      <cbc:PriceAmount currencyID="USD">1000</cbc:PriceAmount>
    </cac:Price>
  </cac:CreditNoteLine>
  ...
</CreditNote>

3.2 cac:CreditNoteLine/cac:TaxTotal

This section contains the total tax amount for the line item, as well as the taxable amount, tax amount, and tax category.

Path	Description	Example
cbc:TaxAmount @currencyID	Total tax amount in the original currency for the line item	70
cac:TaxSubtotal/cbc:TaxableAmount @currencyID	Taxable amount in the original currency for the line item	1000
cac:TaxSubtotal/cbc:TaxAmount @currencyID	Tax amount in the original currency for the line item	70
cac:TaxSubtotal/cac:TaxCategory/cbc:Percent	Tax rate applied to the line item	7.00
cac:TaxSubtotal/cac:TaxCategory/cac:TaxScheme/cbc:ID	Type of tax for this subtotal	VAT

<CreditNote>
  ...
  <cac:CreditNoteLine>
    ...
    <cac:TaxTotal>
      <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="USD">70</cbc:TaxAmount>
      <cac:TaxSubtotal>
        <cbc:TaxableAmount currencyID="USD">1000</cbc:TaxableAmount>
        <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="USD">70</cbc:TaxAmount>
        <cac:TaxCategory>
          <cbc:Percent>7.00</cbc:Percent>
          <cac:TaxScheme>
            <cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID>
          </cac:TaxScheme>
        </cac:TaxCategory>
      </cac:TaxSubtotal>
    </cac:TaxTotal>
  </cac:CreditNoteLine>
  ...
</CreditNote>