The customer portal does not accept the exported file

A rejected file is usually a format issue, not a content issue

If the customer portal does not accept the exported file, it is usually due to the form, not the content. Each portal has its own template: a fixed column order, a fixed cell format, sometimes a fixed number of tabs. An export that is correct in content is still rejected if a date field contains text instead of a date, if a column has been moved, or if the file type does not match what the portal expects — for example .xlsx where .csv is requested. Our system fills in the answers from the supply chain file in the structure provided by the customer; the portal of the customer then checks itself whether that structure is correct. That check is on their side, not on ours — we do not log into third-party portals and therefore do not see what the error message means exactly.

In practice, it is worth first checking which field the error message mentions. If it is missing data, it is often a basic field that is not yet in the supply chain file, such as the establishment address of the company or the registration number under which the enterprise is registered. If it is a format error — wrong cell type, wrong delimiters, a missing tab — it helps to compare the exported file with the empty template that the portal itself offers, and to see where the structure differs.

Why this is outside the scope of the response file

The layout and technical validation of a customer portal is determined by the customer who manages the portal, not by a standard such as EFRAG VSME or the Trade Register Act 2007. These sources determine which data is relevant, not in which file format a portal wants to receive them. For the exact requirements for file type, cell format or tab structure, the documentation of the portal itself is the only correct source.