SolvedCDSSG14100 | CDS Declaration Error Messages: Overview of Error Messages
From HM Revenue & Customs · Customs CDS Volume 3 Tariff, Step-by-Step Guide
Error messages can be generated by CDS for a number of reasons, ranging from incorrect information entered into the declaration, to cross-field validation across multiple elements.
Error codes can also be generated by an amendment request. In these cases, the amendment itself gets rejected, so the declaration data is left unchanged and doesn’t appear to match the error codes generated.
The amendment XMLs can be accessed through the declaration.
An error message will be returned by CDS in the following format:
ValidationCode;CodeDescription;
PointerNames: Declaration->GoodsShipment/Declaration-GoodsShipment->GovernmentAgencyGoodsItem(x)
AddInfoText/AddInfoCode
The definitions for each element of an error message are as follows:
| Message Element | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ValidationCode | The reference number for the error\nCan be used to look up additional guidance | CDS40011 |
| CodeDescription | Description of the error \nWhat has gone wrong? \nWhat needs fixing? | Missing data element value |
| PointerNames | Location of the error\nWhere in the declaration is the problem? | |
| PointerNames:Declaration->GoodsShipment | Error location without goods item number | Header Level Error |
| PointerNames:Declaration->GoodsShipment->GovernmentAgencyGoodsItem(x) | Error location with goods item number | The number in brackets indicates the goods item with the error \n(1) = item 1 |
| AdditionalDocument;FriendlyName | Occasional statement indicating the data element where the error occurs \n \nThis field may not appear in all error messages | Doc Code Statement |
| AddInfoText | Additional information on the error\nMultiple additional information lines may be present | Code missing from DE 6/17 |
| AddInfoCode | Additional information on which code is required for the error\nMultiple additional information lines may be present | Y904 |
Using the examples in the table, an error message may be received in the following format:
ValidationCode:CDS40011;CodeDescription:Missing data element value;PointerNames:Declaration
->GoodsShipment->GovernmentAgencyGoodsItem(1); AdditionalDocument;FriendlyName: Doc Code Statement ;AddInfoCode:C604;AddInfoText:Measure type 705 on commodity code 3926909790 requires document; AddInfoCode:Y904;AddInfoText:Measure type 705 on commodity code 3926909790 requires document;AddInfoCode:All;AddInfoType:Either of these documents need to be supplied
The error messages received through third-party software may look different from this, but will be made up of most, if not all, of the same elements.
The following pages will break this message down and explain each element.