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Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

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Foundations

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Standards

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Flagship messages

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Tools

QUOTES — Quote Message (D.96A)

QUOTES lets a potential seller transmit price, delivery schedule, and other conditions for a potential sale of goods or services. It is the standard response to a request for quotation (REQOTE).

Purpose

Per the UN/CEFACT functional definition, QUOTES is "a message which provides potential sellers with the ability to provide price, delivery schedule, and other conditions for potential sales of goods or services". A quotation may cover one or more goods items or services, several delivery schedules or call-offs, and include additional information for customs or statistical purposes when the transaction is cross-border.

Segment structure

QUOTES D.96A is one of the richest messages in the directory — 56 segment groups across three sections: Header (SG1-26), Detail (SG27-55), Summary (SG56). The full table is in quotes_s.htm.

Mandatory header segments: UNH M , BGM M , and DTM M . Other header segments are conditional: PAI C , ALI C , IMD C , IRQ C , and FTX C .

The 26 header groups successively cover: SG1 RFF+DTM (references), SG2 AJT+FTX (adjustments), SG3 TAX+MOA+LOC (taxes), SG4 CUX+PCD+DTM (currencies), SG5 PAT+DTM+PCD+MOA (payment terms), SG6 TOD+LOC (terms of delivery / Incoterm), SG7 EQD+HAN+MEA+FTX (equipment), SG8 RCS+RFF+DTM+FTX, SG9 APR+PRI+QTY+DTM+MOA+RNG (additional price info), SG10 DLM+MOA+DTM (delivery limitations), SG11 NAD+LOC+FII (parties), SG12 RFF+DTM+LOC, SG13 DOC+DTM, SG14 CTA+COM, SG15 TDT+QTY, SG16 LOC+DTM, SG17 PAC+MEA, SG18 PCI+RFF+DTM+GIN, SG19 SCC+FTX, SG20 QTY+DTM, SG21 ALC+ALI+DTM, and groups SG22-26 (QTY/RNG, PCD/RNG, MOA/RNG, RTE/RNG, TAX/MOA) for document-level bracket pricing.

Detail (line item)

The Detail centers on SG27, a loop built around LIN M , with PIA , IMD , MEA , QTY , PCD , ALI , DTM , GIN , GIR , QVR , FTX , DGS , PAI , DOC . Up to 200,000 lines per interchange. Inside each line, 29 sub-groups: SG28 (CCI+CAV+MEA classifications), SG29 (MOA+QTY+IMD+CUX+DTM line amounts), SG30 (AJT+FTX), SG31 (PRI+APR+RNG+CUX+DTM pricing), SG32 (RFF+DTM), SG33 (LOC+QTY+DTM), SG34 (TAX+MOA+LOC line taxes), SG35 (TOD+LOC), SG36 (EQD+HAN+MEA+FTX), SG37 (RCS+RFF+DTM+FTX), SG38 (PAT+DTM+PCD+MOA), SG39 (PAC+MEA+QTY+DTM), SG40-41 (RFF, PCI+RFF+DTM+GIN), SG42 (NAD+LOC line-level parties), SG43-44 (RFF+DTM, DOC+DTM), SG45 (CTA+COM), SG46 (ALC+ALI+DTM), SG47-51 bracket pricing (QTY/RNG, PCD/RNG, MOA/RNG, RTE/RNG, TAX/MOA), SG52-55 (TDT+QTY, LOC+DTM, SCC+FTX, QTY+DTM).

Summary

The Summary section contains: UNS M , MOA , CNT , then group SG56 (ALC+MOA+ALI) for final allowances/charges, and finally UNT M .

Mandatory / conditional

Strictly mandatory in every QUOTES D.96A:

  • UNH, UNT — frame the message.
  • BGM — quote type and number (qualifier 310 = quote, 311 = response to RFQ).
  • DTM — at least one header date (up to 35 repetitions allowed).
  • UNS+S — separates Detail from Summary.
  • SG27 LIN — at least one line item (group M, ×200,000).

All other data (parties, currencies, Incoterms, prices, taxes) is conditional at the standard level. In practice, a quote without NAD (buyer + seller), without PRI, without CUX, and without a DTM+9 (validity date) is operationally unusable: these segments are made mandatory by bilateral agreement.

Real-world example

A quote sent by a German manufacturer (ACME SUPPLY GMBH) in response to an RFQ from a French buying group (BUYING GROUP SA), for two product references:

edifact quotes-d96a-example.edi 
UNB+UNOC:3+5410000000456:14+5410000000123:14+260513:1000+CTRL000123'
UNH+1+QUOTES:D:96A:UN:EAN008'
BGM+310+QUO-2026-0042+9'
DTM+137:20260513:102'
DTM+9:20260613:102'
DTM+2:20260701:102'
RFF+CR:RFQ-2026-0017'
DTM+171:20260506:102'
CUX+2:EUR:9'
PAT+1++5:3:D:30'
TOD+6++CIP:::PARIS'
NAD+SE+5410000000456::9++ACME SUPPLY GMBH+HAUPTSTRASSE 5+BERLIN++10115+DE'
NAD+BY+5410000000123::9++BUYING GROUP SA+12 RUE DES LILAS+PARIS++75011+FR'
LIN+1++3520000001234:EN'
IMD+F++:::Acoustic guitar, mahogany finish'
QTY+21:50'
PRI+AAA:819.00'
MOA+203:40950.00'
LIN+2++3520000005678:EN'
IMD+F++:::Capo, spring loaded'
QTY+21:250'
PRI+AAA:17.90'
MOA+203:4475.00'
UNS+S'
MOA+128:45425.00'
CNT+2:2'
UNT+25+1'
UNZ+1+CTRL000123'
  • BGM+310+QUO-2026-0042+9 — code 310 (quote), number QUO-2026-0042, status 9 (Original).
  • DTM+137 — quote date. DTM+9 — validity date. DTM+2 — proposed delivery date.
  • RFF+CR:RFQ-2026-0017 — reference to the original RFQ.
  • PAT+1++5:3:D:30 — payment terms: 5% discount within 30 days (qualifier 1 = basic payment terms).
  • TOD+6++CIP:::PARIS — Incoterm CIP Paris (qualifier 6 = price and place of delivery code).
  • Two LIN with QTY (qualifier 21 = ordered) and PRI (AAA = net calculation), followed by line MOA (qualifier 203 = line item amount).
  • UNS+S — Detail → Summary boundary. MOA+128 — quote total.
  • UNT+25+1 — 25 segments total (UNH and UNT included).

Common errors

  • Wrong BGM function code — 310 = quote, 311 = response to RFQ, 312 = price quotation. Mapping to ORDERS (220) is a classic ERP mistake.
  • Missing validity — DTM+9 (validity date) must be present so the buyer knows how long the quote stands. European public buyers require it by default.
  • Malformed PAT — composite C110 expects a combination of discount qualifier + delay. 5:3:D:30 means 5% discount if paid within 30 days (D = days).
  • TOD without place — Incoterms 2020/2025 require a named place. TOD+6++CIP without component 4 (place) is technically valid but consistently rejected in practice.
  • Missing UNS+S — as in ORDERS, omitting UNS between the last SG27 line and the Summary trips all syntactic validators.

QUOTES sits in the Source-to-Pay cycle:

  • REQOTE — Request for Quote (initial request).
  • QUOTES — the response (this message).
  • ORDERS D.96A — order issued on the accepted quote.
  • ORDRSP D.96A — order confirmation.
  • INVOIC D.96A — invoice, eventually.
  • CONTRL D.96A — syntactic acknowledgment.

JSON equivalent

JSON projection of the example for integration in a marketplace or e-procurement portal:

json quotes-d96a-equivalent.json 
{
  "interchange": {
    "controlRef": "CTRL000123",
    "from": { "id": "5410000000456", "qualifier": "14" },
    "to": { "id": "5410000000123", "qualifier": "14" },
    "datetime": "2026-05-13T10:00:00Z",
    "syntax": { "id": "UNOC", "version": "3" }
  },
  "message": {
    "ref": "1",
    "type": "QUOTES",
    "version": { "syntax": "D", "release": "96A", "agency": "UN", "association": "EAN008" }
  },
  "quote": {
    "number": "QUO-2026-0042",
    "function": "310",
    "status": "9",
    "documentDate": "2026-05-13",
    "validityDate": "2026-06-13",
    "deliveryDate": "2026-07-01",
    "rfqRef": { "value": "RFQ-2026-0017", "date": "2026-05-06" },
    "currency": "EUR",
    "paymentTerms": { "type": "1", "discount": 5, "withinDays": 30 },
    "incoterm": { "code": "CIP", "place": "PARIS" },
    "parties": {
      "seller": { "gln": "5410000000456", "name": "ACME SUPPLY GMBH" },
      "buyer": { "gln": "5410000000123", "name": "BUYING GROUP SA" }
    },
    "lines": [
      { "ref": 1, "gtin": "3520000001234", "description": "Acoustic guitar, mahogany finish",
        "quantity": 50, "price": { "net": 819.00 }, "amount": { "lineTotal": 40950.00 } },
      { "ref": 2, "gtin": "3520000005678", "description": "Capo, spring loaded",
        "quantity": 250, "price": { "net": 17.90 }, "amount": { "lineTotal": 4475.00 } }
    ],
    "totals": { "amount": 45425.00, "lineCount": 2 }
  }
}