20xxx · Payee references and the reporting PSP
CESOP error 20020
“DocRefID is not unique within the system”
Only CESOP can raise it
What it means
The DocRefId has already been used in a message CESOP holds. A DocRefId identifies one payee record for good, so it cannot be reused later.
Why files get it
- A rejected or corrected file resent with its original DocRefIds.
- Deterministic references that come out the same every quarter.
How to fix it
- Generate new DocRefIds for every message.
- To change a payee already on file, send a correction: a new DocRefId, with the old one in CorrDocRefId.
Catch the rest before you file
20020 depends on data CESOP already holds, so no validator can raise it in advance. Most of the catalogue does not: the free validator checks a file against every rule that can be tested before submission and names the CESOP error each finding would become.
The file is parsed in your browser tab. No upload, no account.
Source: the error catalogue in the Payment Data XSD User Guide — CESOP, v4.40 (DG TAXUD), §2.2.3.18. The explanation is ours; it describes the file format and is not tax advice.