ACA XML File Rejected

Our ACA XML file was rejected with Error Code AIRSH100 - XML Schema Validation Failed - not well formed or missing required elements. Does anyone have any idea of how I address this? I can't find any documentation from Infor's KBs on how to fix this error.

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Infor Lawson Human Resources Group - Discussion

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unknown

We had a similar message and were also initially stumped. Then my co-worker opened the file with an XML editor (XML Notepad) and it identified the exact record and position of the error (which turned out to be a tab character in an employee's address line 1).

rgomez1

Barb, We are having a similar issue as well. We identified addresses with a '#' sign or double spaces as causing the errors. In order to get the address updated, did you have to rerun BN990, BN297, and BN299?

unknown

I didn't know what to do at the time so I took a shortcut and edited the field directly in table BNACAIRS and then the customer reran BN299. I'm trying to find out the proper method now. You are thinking it is to correct the employee's address on HR11 and rerun BN990 and BN297 before rerunning BN299?

rgomez1

Yes, that's what we were thinking. We've opened a case with Infor, but they said we just needed to rerun BN299. However, that didn't pick up any address changes since the address is stored in BNACAIRS as of the time the BN990 was run.

unknown

Hi RGomez - Are the double spaces making through to your XML file and being flagged as an issue by the IRS?

rgomez1

Yes, some of them are being flagged as an issue. We're going through and updating the addresses now. We will then rerun BN990 and BN299. Before we re-submit the file to the IRS, we are going to use XML Notepad to validate that there aren't any other address errors.

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a-roebers

I received this Error Code with my Production file and once I get the file corrected I need to send a replacement file. Is anyone in the same situation that now you need to send a replacement file to the IRS? Infor doesn't have a time frame for me on when they will be ready with replacement files?

unknown

Can someone please explain what all of this schema validation is and if it is necessary/required?

It seems to me that this schema validation is a technical step that should have been performed by the programmers (Infor), not the submitters. All we are doing is running the programs given to us by the programmers to produce the files.

Not being a programmer myself, I have no clue what all these errors about elements not being declared, etc. even mean, let alone how to address them.

Please advise. Thanks.

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unknown

It needs to be done by the programmers at the Customer site (your site) to validate the files your BN299 creates so that you don't transmit a file not in good format. Our first file, for example, was rejected by the IRS because the XML format was invalid - which was caused by a tab character in an employee address line 1.

unknown

Thank you BarbR.

All of the errors that I seem to be getting (and there are numerous) state that the elements are not declared? Can anyone provide insight as to what that means?

unknown

Once I re-read through the thread, I picked up on something I had previously missed...using 'View' > 'Schemas' to redirect which schema is used for validation.

However looking at plancor's thread, it says once done, the next step was to "process" the file/validation? How/Where do you "process" it? Once I reset the pointers to the .xsd files in the extracted folder, all the errors disappeared...but, now I do not know if I've done something wrong, or if that actually means the file has now "passed" validation? Any further advise? Thank you.

plancor

tbonney, once the v7.0 schema and a different version of XML Notepad were used, I no longer needed to use View > Schemas. As long as the xsd files were in the location as described by RGomez1, the xml files were validated as soon as I opened them. To be sure it's working for you, you can open an xml that you know has an error to be assured that it's working correctly.

marty

I just want to throw out a giant thank you and God bless this group. I literally could not have done this without you. BarbR and RGomez1, the instructions you've provided on using XML Notepad and reprocessing address corrections has been a lifesaver. Thank you so much!

rgomez1

Glad I could help! I figure we're all suffering trying to figure this stuff out!!

unknown

Yes, most definitely a big THANK YOU goes out to all contributors!!!

I do have one additional question though. With regards to the special characters, it is very common to have apostrophes in street names, number signs for apartment numbers & PO boxes, etc.

So my question is, rather than change people's addresses to exclude these characters, isn't there any way to "escape" them out so they do not reject?

Thank you.

unknown

From the presentation from:

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Information Returns (AIR)

Working Group Meeting

May 24, 2016

Apostrophe’s – The apostrophe is not allowed in AIR

•However the escaped apostrophe (&apos) is allowed except in an Individual’s name

juergen-erbe

As others have mentioned, apostrophe's aren't allowed at all in names. Otherwise the below is what the actual specs indicate you can use and can't use as alternatives to the actual character.

Page 31 of the AIR Composition & Reference Guide:

5.2.2 SQL Injection in the SOAP Message

The special characters listed below are treated as SQL injections. SQL injections exploit security vulnerabilities in an application's software. SQL injections are mostly known as an attack vector for websites or A2A communication between two sources. SQL Injections may allow attackers to spoof identity, tamper with existing data, cause repudiation issues such as voiding transactions or changing balances, allow the complete disclosure of all data on the system, or destroy the data. Characters that are not allowed due to concerns about SQL Injections are shown in Table 5-1, If needed, escape characters shown in this table can be used and are allowed.

Table 5-1 Characters not allowed due to SQL Injection Concerns

Character	Character Description	Character Allowed?	Escape Characters	Escape Character Allowed
&	Ampersand	Rejected (malformed check)	&	Allowed
‘	Apostrophe	Rejected (sql injection check)	'	Allowed
“	Quotation Mark	Allowed	"	Allowed
--	Double Dash	Rejected (sql injection check)	Not Available	N/A
#	Hash Key	Rejected (sql injection check)	Not Available	N/A
<	Less Than	Rejected (malformed check)	<	Allowed
>	Greater Than	Allowed	>	Allowed

That being said, the IRS expects your addresses to confirm to the USPS postal standards, and as such should probably have all punctuation, other than the odd city that managed to keep their apostrophe in their name, removed.

http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub28/28c2_007.htm

unknown

How do you go about fixing the errors when validating the XML? I'm not a programmer...Received error "cannot resolve the "schemalocation" attribute.

plancor

Nicole Solarz, I was receiving the same error. To resolve for me, I used the v7.0 schema, XML Notepad from lovett software, and made sure the xsd files were in the correct folder structure. See posts from RGomez1 yesterday.

unknown

Did you receive a response for this question? I'm dealing with the same issue for 2017. 2016 File checked out okay. This year however did not. Please do let me know. Thank you.

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