Compliance requirements for e-invoicing in the UAE
While no e-invoicing mandate currently exists in the United Arab Emirates, it does already permit the electronic exchange of business documents—so long as the medium and format are agreed upon by both the buyer and seller. To ensure the document’s authenticity and integrity, it must be stored in the same format in which the buyer issued it and signed with an e-signature.
Once a mandate is in place, taxpayers in the UAE will have to issue and receive electronic invoices through an Accredited Service Provider (ASP). According to the announced plan, only ASPs will be allowed to connect with the Tax Authority Platform to submit e-invoice data. Therefore, taxpayers will need to enter a commercial agreement with an ASP and integrate systems to allow for document transmission.
Electronic invoices will need to be sent in XML format, and the ASP will also share the invoice data with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA).
