The United Arab Emirates government has launched a website for e-invoicing, with the Ministry of Finance portal serving as the official reference for announcements and resources pertaining to the e-invoice mandate. This initiative underscores the UAE’s commitment to implementing mandatory e-invoicing, set to begin in the second quarter of 2026, as part of its efforts to digitize the economy.
This change will be rolled out gradually, with a phased implementation scheduled for completion by June 2026, with businesses implementing at prescribed stages according to specific criteria and notice shall be provided in advance of the requirements coming into effect.
Each member of the VAT group must establish an endpoint through a UAE Accredited Service Provider. Once the Ministry of Finance publishes the list of Accredited Service Providers (ASP), businesses need to enter into a commercial agreement with one of these providers and integrate their systems to issue and receive e-invoices via the Peppol network. The e-invoicing framework includes all business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) transactions, regardless of the VAT registration status of the entities involved. After establishing a connection, businesses can transmit invoices to the buyer’s endpoint over the network, streamlining the invoicing process.
The e-Invoicing model follows a decentralized five-corner approach that involves thorough data validation and reporting mechanisms. The 5-corner PEPPOL model is an advancement of the former 4-corner model, introducing a fifth corner: the relevant tax authority. ASPs will validate every data field on the e-invoice, transform the document to the standard electronic invoice XML format ensuring compliance with the UAE’s data dictionary before sharing it across the Peppol network. (The seller’s supplier sends the e-invoice to the buyer’s service provider. And the buyer’s service provider forwards it to the buyer.) Once exchanged, ASPs will report the tax data of the e-invoice to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the centralized government platform sends a notification of successful receipt.
ASPs will be required to meet UAE National Cloud Security Policy standards and adhere to sector-specific data protection regulations. The FTA will provide an API gateway for ASPs to streamline invoice and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reporting, fostering a cohesive data infrastructure across the UAE. A testing phase with the FTA and ASPs will also precede the live launch to identify and resolve any potential issues.
The timelines for the mandate roll-out have been further clarified as follows:
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Q4 2024: Service providers can begin the accreditation process, with further details expected to be released soon;
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Q2 2025: Legislation updates will be introduced;
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Q2 2026: Phase 1 Go-live of B2B and B2G e-invoicing.
