Credit Note and Debit Note Rules

When submitting a credit note or debit note against a previously signed invoice:

1. OriginalReference is required and must reference an existing fiscal invoice.
2. Notes is required — provide the reason for the credit/debit.
3. Currency must match the original invoice.
4. Buyer must match the original invoice (same BuyerName, BuyerTIN, and BuyerVAT).
5. Original invoice must be signed by ZIMRA — you cannot credit an invoice that has not yet been confirmed by ZIMRA.
6. 12-month limit — the original invoice must have been issued within the last 12 months.
7. Credit limit — the total of all credit notes against an original invoice cannot exceed the original invoice amount (net of any previous credits and debits).
8. Tax types must match — credit/debit notes can only use tax types (percentages) that were present on the original invoice. You cannot introduce new tax types.
9. All amounts are negative for credit notes (TotalAmount, line totals, payment amounts).

Sign Rules for Amounts

The sign (positive/negative) of UnitPrice and LineTotal depends on receipt type and line type:

Receipt Type	Line Type	UnitPrice / LineTotal
FiscalInvoice / DebitNote	Sale	Must be positive
FiscalInvoice / DebitNote	Discount	Must be negative
CreditNote	Sale	Must be negative
CreditNote	Discount	Must be positive

External Original Invoices

If the original invoice was processed by a different system (not through CloudESD), you must supply:

• OriginalReference — the original invoice reference
• OriginalFiscalDayNumber — the fiscal day number when the original was signed
• OriginalGlobalCounter — the global counter of the original receipt
• OriginalZimraDeviceId — the ZIMRA device ID that signed the original

In this case, credit limit and tax type matching cannot be validated by the system.