CII is the UN/CEFACT XML syntax for e-invoices, used as the basis for Germany's XRechnung and France's Factur-X hybrid PDF+XML format.
CII stands for Cross Industry Invoice, the invoice document syntax defined by UN/CEFACT (United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business) under its D16B release. Like UBL, CII is an XML standard, but it uses a different element vocabulary and namespace. The EU's EN 16931 e-invoice standard has two official syntax bindings: UBL 2.1 and CII — both are fully compliant with the norm, so trading partners and platforms can choose either.
CII is most prominent in two national e-invoicing contexts. In Germany, XRechnung is a CIUS (Core Invoice Usage Specification) of EN 16931 serialised in CII — it is the predominant format for German public-sector invoicing and forms one of the accepted structured formats for the upcoming B2B mandate. In France, Factur-X (also branded as ZUGFeRD in Germany) is a hybrid PDF+XML format that embeds a CII XML file inside a PDF/A-3 attachment, making it readable by humans (the PDF) and processable by machines (the embedded CII XML).
A CII invoice uses elements like ExchangedDocumentContext, SupplyChainTradeTransaction, IncludedSupplyChainTradeLineItem, and SpecifiedTradeSettlement. The structure differs from UBL but carries the same information. Validation tools specific to CII are available from the national standards bodies (e.g. the KoSIT validator for XRechnung in Germany).
Invotify Pro exports CII XML files aligned with EN 16931. The export covers XRechnung-compatible output for German compliance and provides the XML component needed for Factur-X/ZUGFeRD (Invotify generates the CII XML; embedding it into a PDF/A-3 container is handled by your workflow or a dedicated tool). E-invoicing is a Pro feature.
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