Salesforce Metadata API Deployment Error: 'Element tabVisibilities Is Duplicated at This Location in Type Profile' When Deploying Profile XML

Problem

When deploying a Salesforce Profile metadata file using the Metadata API or Salesforce CLI, the deployment fails with the following error:
"Error parsing file: Element [ElementName] is duplicated at this location in type Profile"
For example: "Error parsing file: Element tabVisibilities is duplicated at this location in type Profile"
This error occurs when the XML structure of the Profile metadata file is modified so that multiple occurrences of the same element type (such as tabVisibilities or userPermissions) are no longer grouped consecutively. In Salesforce Metadata API, all occurrences of the same element type within a complex type (such as a Profile) must be grouped together as a consecutive block in the XML file.

Root Cause: Non-Consecutive Element Grouping

The following XML snippet shows the correct structure — all tabVisibilities elements are grouped together before the userPermissions block:

<tabVisibilities>
    <tab>TestObject__c</tab>
    <visibility>DefaultOn</visibility>
</tabVisibilities>
<tabVisibilities>
    <tab>TestObject2__c</tab>
    <visibility>DefaultOn</visibility>
</tabVisibilities>
<userPermissions>
    <enabled>true</enabled>
    <name>ActivateContract</name>
</userPermissions>

The following snippet shows the incorrect structure that triggers the error — a tabVisibilities element appears after a userPermissions block, breaking the required consecutive grouping:

<tabVisibilities>
    <tab>TestObject__c</tab>
    <visibility>DefaultOn</visibility>
</tabVisibilities>
<userPermissions>
    <enabled>true</enabled>
    <name>ActivateContract</name>
</userPermissions>
<tabVisibilities>
    <tab>TestObject2__c</tab>
    <visibility>DefaultOn</visibility>
</tabVisibilities>