The UAE is moving business-to-business invoicing onto a national e-invoicing system. Paper and PDF invoices will no longer be enough: invoices will be issued in a structured format through an Accredited Service Provider (ASP) and reported to the FTA. The rules are in Ministerial Decisions 243 and 244 of 2025.
The timeline
| Phase | Who | Appoint an ASP by | E-invoicing mandatory from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Selected taxpayers and voluntary adopters | Not applicable | 1 July 2026 |
| Phase 1 | Revenue of AED 50 million or more | 31 July 2026 | 1 January 2027 |
| Phase 2 | Revenue below AED 50 million | 31 March 2027 | 1 July 2027 |
| Government | Government entities | 31 March 2027 | 1 October 2027 |
Revenue means total revenue in your latest financial statements. Business-to-consumer invoices are outside the scope for now.
If you are in Phase 1 and have not yet appointed an ASP, you are already late.
What changes in practice
- Every B2B invoice and credit note must be issued in the required electronic format through your ASP.
- Your ERP or accounting system has to produce the right data fields, consistently.
- Customer and supplier master data, including TRNs, has to be clean, because errors will be rejected.
- Both issuing and receiving invoices are affected, so AP teams need to be ready too.
Penalties
Cabinet Decision 106 of 2025 set penalties for failing to implement e-invoicing or appoint an ASP on time, and for each invoice not issued or reported correctly. The penalty rules were revised in 2026, so check the current schedule with the FTA.
A six-step readiness plan
- Confirm your phase from your latest revenue.
- Shortlist and appoint an ASP from the Ministry of Finance's list.
- Check what your ERP can output and close the gaps.
- Clean customer, supplier and product master data.
- Test with real invoice samples, including credit notes and unusual cases.
- Update month-end and VAT return processes for the new data flow.
How iConsult can help
Our fractional CFO and tax team can run the readiness project alongside your finance staff. Book a free consultation.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. It reflects the rules as we understand them on the date shown; laws and guidance change, so check the current position or talk to us before you act.