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Explainer

What changes

Today a business in the UAE can send an invoice any way it likes: a Word or Excel file, a PDF from accounting software, a message on WhatsApp.

Under the e-invoicing mandate, an invoice to another business or to a government body becomes a structured data file in a fixed format, sent through a licensed intermediary called an Accredited Service Provider. The provider checks the file, delivers it to the customer's provider, and reports it to the Federal Tax Authority. The customer's accounting system receives data, not a picture of an invoice.

Sales to individual consumers are not included for now.

Who is in scope

Scope
Any person conducting business in the UAE, for every business transaction, unless the person or the transaction is excluded. Business-to-consumer transactions are not subject to the system, and a person engaged exclusively in them is not subject to it, until a further decision by the Minister. Source: Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025, Article 3, and Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 5(2). Verified 14 October 2026.
VAT registration
Scope does not depend on VAT registration. The scope article applies to any person conducting business in the UAE and sets no VAT registration condition. Source: Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025, Article 3. Verified 14 October 2026.
Revenue line between the two waves
AED 50 million Source: Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 5(1). Verified 14 October 2026.

Not sure which side of the AED 50 million line you are on, or whether you sell to businesses? Run the checker.

The dates

Voluntary pilot from
1 July 2026 Source: Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 3(4) and Article 4. Verified 14 October 2026.
Revenue of AED 50 million or more: appoint a provider by
30 October 2026 Source: Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026, Article One, amending Article 5(1)(a) of Decision 244 of 2025. Verified 14 October 2026.
Revenue of AED 50 million or more: issue e-invoices from
1 January 2027 Source: Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026, Article One, amending Article 5(1)(a) of Decision 244 of 2025. Verified 14 October 2026.
Revenue under AED 50 million: appoint a provider by
31 March 2027 Source: Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 5(1)(b). Verified 14 October 2026.
Revenue under AED 50 million: issue e-invoices from
1 July 2027 Source: Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 5(1)(b). Verified 14 October 2026.
Government entities: issue e-invoices from
1 October 2027 Source: Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 5(1)(c). Verified 14 October 2026.

The rules that affect a small business

Legal basis
Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 on the Electronic Invoicing System and Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 on its implementation, as amended by Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026 Source: Ministry of Finance e-invoicing page, documents list. Verified 14 October 2026.
Issuance window
Within 14 days of the date of the business transaction, or within the VAT law timeline for VAT registrants Source: Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025, Article 6(4) and 6(5). Verified 14 October 2026.
Record storage
All e-invoices, e-credit notes and associated data must be stored within the UAE Source: Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025, Article 11. Verified 14 October 2026.
Technical model
A Peppol-based decentralised exchange model. Only accredited service providers may send, receive and exchange e-invoices and report them to the Federal Tax Authority. Source: Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025, Articles 5 and 6(7), and KPMG TaxNewsFlash, October 2025. Verified 14 October 2026.
Free invoices
Each accredited provider must offer 100 free e-invoice exchange and reporting services a year from the date the end-user agreement is signed Source: Ministerial Decision No. 168 of 2026, Article 9(4). Verified 16 October 2026.
Penalties
AED 5,000 for each month or part of a month of delay in implementing the system, including failing to appoint an accredited provider on time; AED 100 for each e-invoice or e-credit note not issued and transmitted on time, up to AED 5,000 per calendar month; AED 1,000 per day for failing to notify a system failure or a change in registered data on time Source: Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025, annexed table. Verified 14 October 2026.

How the five-corner model works

  1. 1 You
  2. 2 Your provider
  3. 3 Customer's provider
  4. 4 Your customer
  5. 5 Federal Tax Authority
  1. You create the invoice in software that is, or connects to, an accredited provider.
  2. Your provider validates it against the UAE format and sends it across the Peppol network.
  3. Your customer's provider receives it and passes it into their system.
  4. Your provider reports the invoice data to the Federal Tax Authority at the same time.
  5. You keep the invoice and its status stored in the UAE for audit.

As described in the KPMG summary.

Software you may already use

Zoho Books
Zoho Books includes the first 100 e-invoicing transactions at no charge on its Free plan, available while revenue for the financial year does not exceed AED 200,000, and on the Professional plan (AED 90 a month billed annually) and above. Additional packs start at AED 41 per 100 transactions. Source: Zoho Books UAE pricing page. Verified 14 October 2026.
QuickBooks Online
As of 18 December 2025, a QuickBooks Team member stated QuickBooks Online does not directly support e-invoicing for the UAE and had no update on plans to add it in 2026. Source: Intuit QuickBooks community, staff reply, 18 December 2025. Verified 14 October 2026.

Glossary

Accredited Service Provider (ASP)
A company accredited by the Ministry of Finance to send, receive and report e-invoices on your behalf.
Peppol
An international network and set of standards for exchanging business documents between different software systems.
TRN
Tax Registration Number, issued by the Federal Tax Authority.
Peppol ID
The address of a business on the Peppol network, used to deliver invoices to the right recipient.
B2B and B2G
Sales to companies, and sales to government bodies. Both are in scope.
Go-live
The date from which your invoices to businesses and government must go through the system.

Guides

Official documents

This is general information, not tax or legal advice.