The full set of technical documents relating to the Industry Returns Initiative (IRI) in EDI format can be found on this page.
IRI is the industry standard designed to automate, streamline and remove costs from the returns process. The suite of messages is taken from EDIFACT Directory D.99A, and whilst EDI is the principal method used to request, authorise and reject returns, it is not the only mechanism available. The IRI Text File Specification is also available on this page, and the set of returns APIs can be viewed on the BIC Realtime for Trade page.
All documents were reviewed in December 2022.
R1 – Overview
R2 – Structure of an EDIFACT transmission
R3 – Using the RETANN message for return requests
R4 – Using the RETINS message for returns authorisation
R5 – Using the RETINS message for returns adjustments
R6 – Returns Code List
IRI Text file design specification (version 13, December 2022)
Filenaming conventions for use in FTP file transfers (version 5, Jan 2023)
Alongside the technical specifications, there is a set of supporting best practice documents.