Description

Certain sectors require composite articles such as tool kits and book+toy combinations, multi-delivery groupings, or subtotals per order within a single invoice. The subline mechanism uses two key fields: EXT-FR-FE-162 (parent line identifier) to establish hierarchy and EXT-FR-FE-163 (line subtype) to classify each line.

Three line subtypes exist:

DETAIL

Included in calculations and Flux 1.

INFORMATION

Descriptive only, not in calculations or Flux 1.

GROUP

Subtotal or grouping, not in calculations or Flux 1.

Standard lines without parent or subtype can coexist with sublines. Multi-level nesting is supported (GROUP containing GROUP containing DETAIL). Only DETAIL lines contribute to totals, VAT breakdown, and Flux 1 or 10.1 extraction.

Key characteristics

• EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile required for the subline feature.

• EXT-FR-FE-162: Parent line identifier (links child to parent BT-126).

• EXT-FR-FE-163: Line subtype (DETAIL | INFORMATION | GROUP).

• DETAIL: Included in totals and VAT calculations, transmitted in Flux 1 or 10.1.

• INFORMATION: Descriptive only. Not in calculations and not in Flux 1.

• GROUP: Subtotal or grouping. Not in calculations and not in Flux 1.

• GROUP BT-131 (if present): Must equal the sum of the child DETAIL or GROUP BT-131 values.

• Multi-level nesting supported. Standard lines can coexist with sublines.

• Central to UC 39 (multi-vendor invoices), which uses GROUP lines per vendor.

Relationship to other use cases

Use case 38 provides the technical foundation for use case 39 (multi-vendor invoices), which uses GROUP lines to organize unit invoices per vendor. The subline mechanism also supports multi-delivery and multi-order consolidation within a single invoice, which relates to use case 1 (multi-order or multi-delivery). The INFORMATION subtype is useful for product composition details without impacting calculations.

Note:

Profile EXTENDED-CTC-FR is required. EN16931 does not natively support hierarchical line structures.

Business and tax context

Common business scenarios

Legal and regulatory framework

Sublines are an EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile extension. EN16931 does not natively support hierarchical line structures. The EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile adds the necessary fields and business rules to enforce calculation integrity.

Composite products

Book+toy with different VAT rates per component.

Kit or pack sales

Tool kit with itemized contents (INFORMATION sublines).

Transport supplements

Main delivery with surcharges as DETAIL sublines.

Multi-delivery grouping

Subtotals per delivery within a consolidated invoice.

Tax and accounting implications

Only DETAIL lines contribute to VAT calculations. GROUP and INFORMATION lines are excluded. This ensures no double-counting when subtotals or descriptive lines are present. The Flux 1 extraction only includes DETAIL lines, ensuring correct tax pre-filling.

Key data requirements

Implementation considerations

Seller considerations

• Use the EXTENDED-CTC-FR profile for invoices with sublines.

• Make sure the DETAIL lines contain all required line fields (price, quantity, VAT).

• GROUP BT-131 must equal the sum of the child DETAIL or GROUP BT-131 values.

• The INFORMATION lines do not need to have required line fields.

Buyer considerations

• Process subline invoices.

• Only DETAIL lines affect totals.

General considerations

• The issuer's Plateforme Agréée (PA-E) must extract only DETAIL lines for Flux 1 or 10.1 (exclude GROUP and INFORMATION).

• The receiver's PA (PA-R) must support rendering hierarchical line structures so the buyer can view them.

SCI mapping

Field	SCI path
BT-126 Line ID	Invoice/InvoiceLine/ID
EXT-FR-FE-162 Parent Line ID	Invoice/InvoiceLine/DocumentReference/ID
EXT-FR-FE-163 Line Subtype	Invoice/InvoiceLine/Note
BT-131 Line Amount	Invoice/InvoiceLine/LineExtensionAmount
BT-153 Item Name	Invoice/InvoiceLine/Item/Name