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Fatal — invoice rejected VAT categories & rates UAE-specific rule PINT-AE 2026.5

How to fix aligned-ibrp-ae-09-ae in UAE e-invoicing

What is aligned-ibrp-ae-09-ae?

aligned-ibrp-ae-09-ae is a fatal validation rule in the UAE's Peppol PINT-AE e-invoicing specification — one of the UAE-specific rules. It is checked against the VAT totals and belongs to the VAT categories & rates rule group. An e-invoice that fails aligned-ibrp-ae-09-ae is rejected by the Accredited Service Provider gateway before it reaches the FTA.

What the official rule says

In a VAT breakdown (IBG-23) where the VAT category code (IBT-118) is 'Reverse charge', VAT category tax amount (IBT-117) MUST be equal to 0 (zero).
UAE impact: this is a fatal rule specific to the UAE PINT-AE profile — an invoice failing it is rejected at the Accredited Service Provider gateway before it ever reaches the FTA. A rejected invoice means resubmission delays, and late transmission risks the AED 100-per-invoice penalty under Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025.

Where it applies

This rule is checked against the VAT totals of your UBL 2.1 invoice: 

/*/cac:TaxTotal/cac:TaxSubtotal/cac:TaxCategory[normalize-space(cbc:ID) = 'AE'][cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']

Business terms referenced

Term ID Field Other rules
IBG-23 VAT breakdown view →
IBT-118 VAT category code view →
IBT-117 VAT category tax amount view →

Field names are derived automatically from the official rule corpus.

Why this happens

In a reverse-charge VAT breakdown (category AE), the VAT category tax amount must be zero — under the reverse-charge mechanism the buyer self-accounts the VAT, so the invoice itself shows no VAT amount. Stating a rate is fine; stating a non-zero VAT amount is a fatal error.

How to fix it

1. Set the VAT amount for the reverse-charge breakdown to 0. 2. Keep the taxable amount and (optionally) the rate. 3. Ensure the buyer's TRN is present — reverse charge requires an identified, VAT-registered buyer (rule ibr-103-ae).

Technical test condition (Schematron) 
xs:decimal(../cbc:TaxAmount) = 0

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Related rules

aligned-ibrp-ae-08-ae In a VAT Breakdown (IBG-23) where the VAT category code (IBT-118) is 'Reverse Charge', for each diff aligned-ibrp-045 Each VAT breakdown (ibg-23) MUST have a VAT category taxable amount (ibt-116). aligned-ibrp-046 Each VAT breakdown (ibg-23) MUST have a VAT category tax amount (ibt-117). aligned-ibrp-047 Each VAT breakdown (ibg-23) MUST be defined through a VAT category code (ibt-118). aligned-ibrp-048 Each VAT breakdown (ibg-23) MUST have a VAT category rate (ibt-119), except if the Invoice is not su aligned-ibrp-ae-01-ae An Invoice that contains an Invoice line (ibg-25), a Document level allowance (ibg-20) or a Document aligned-ibrp-e-01 An Invoice that contains an Invoice line (ibg-25), a Document level allowance (ibg-20) or a Document aligned-ibrp-e-08 In a VAT breakdown (ibg-23) where the VAT category code (ibt-118) is "Exempt from VAT" the VAT categ

Rule text sourced from the official OpenPeppol PINT-AE validation artifacts (version 2026.5), refreshed weekly. Explanations are qmetrics' own guidance, not official FTA/MoF text.