e-Invoicing in United Arab Emirates (UAE): A Comprehensive Guide for Your Business

The United Arab Emirates is modernizing its tax system by introducing e-invoicing under the E-billing system. E-invoicing means that the businesses will issue, send, receive and store invoices electronically through a government approved system. So, no more paper or pdf invoices outside the system. By July 2026, e-invoicing will be made mandatory for all B2B and B2G (Business to Government) transactions.

The UAE Government wants to make invoicing faster, more efficient, cut down the paper usage, improve transparency & compliance, prevent tax evasion, and align with the standards that are used in many countries. UAE’s invoicing framework is built on the Peppol 5-corner model, that ensures invoices are securely exchanged between businesses, data is standardized and easy to verify and it is faster, safer and also reduces the errors. This model involves five parties; the seller, the seller’s access point (AP- a certified system provider), buyers access point, the buyer and the FTA.

By July 2026, all B2B and B2G businesses must issue invoices electronically through approved systems. There won’t be any paper or emailed PDFs allowed outside the e-invoicing system. Businesses will need to connect to an approved Access Point to send and receive invoices.

Recent Updates

14th March 2025: UAE released the requirements for the service provider accreditation. 

As a part of UAE’s move to 5 Corner e-invoicing system using Peppol Network, the government needs to make sure that the companies managing the exchange of e-invoices are secure, reliable and technically capable. And for this, the UAE Ministry of Finance has released a list of accreditation requirements, which is basically a checklist of qualifications and standards that a service provider must meet in order to be officially approved for handling e-invoice exchange and reporting. 

The complete, official list of requirements is published on the UAE Ministry of Finance’s website for any service provider interested in applying for accreditation.  

27th February, 2025: Federal Tax Authority of UAE has invited Public Consultation

Peppol Service Providers, and industry leaders were requested to submit their suggestions and opinions on UAE eInvoicing Framework. 27th February was the deadline for submission and there was a meeting, with people included from Ministry, Industry Head and Solution Providers.

6th February, 2025: Data Dictionary released for UAE eInvoicing

Federal Tax Authority released Data Dictionary, for Public Consultation at the official website of FTA for inviting participants opinions on the Data Dictionary, and submit it before 27th February, 2025.

25th October, 2024: Dedicated Landing Page Published by FTA For eInvoicing Regulations

Official website for eInvoicing introduced by FTA (Federal Tax Authority) providing timeline, Objective, benefits, framework and FAQs on UAE eInvoicing Model. 

As per the timeline mentioned, eInvoicing will be rolled out in phases, similar to Saudi Arabia and Malaysia with eInvoicing already implemented and the first phase will be implemented from July of 2026.

14 February 2024: The deadline for implementing e-invoicing in the UAE has been updated.

At the 2024 Dubai E-invoicing Exchange Summit, the UAE Ministry of Finance announced the implementation of the Peppol-based DCTCE (5-corner) model as part of the new CTC e-invoicing framework.

What is E-Invoicing?

E-invoicing means creating, sending and storing invoices digitally using a government-approved, structured format without paper, emailed PDFs or any manual invoices. It’s a part of UAE's plan to modernize tax reportings and make transactions more transparent, secure and efficient. This system or method avoids any clutter, unlike traditional paper invoices and enables data to be transmitted in real time and ensures seamless integration between the seller and consumers. This increases and eases e-billing and financial operations, making it efficient.

For an e-invoice to be accepted by the UAE government, there are certain requirements that must be met. They are: 

• Invoices must be in digital format:

The invoices must be created as structured data files in XML formats, and not as PDF or any image format. 

• Use a structured data format:

It should follow a set of international standards called PINT AE (Peppol International for UAE). This is to make the invoice readable for all systems. 

• Send the invoice via an accredited service provider:

Businesses must use an official FTA-approved service provider connected to Peppol Network to send and receive invoices. 

• Submit the invoice to e-billing system in the real time:

Invoices should be sent immediately to the FTA when they’re issued and not later. The invoices will be kept safe by FTA  for tax reporting, auditing, and legal recordkeeping. 

• Manual or unstructured invoices is not valid:

Keep in mind that paper-based invoices, invoices created by hand, or invoices in PDF, JPG, or other formats are not acceptable e-invoices.

UAE E-Invoicing Implementation Timeline

Originally, the UAE had planned to launch the mandatory e-invoicing in July 2025. But due to some technical and system integration challenges, the implementation of this system got delayed by one year to July 2026. 

At the 2024 Dubai E-invoicing Exchange Summit, the UAE Ministry of Finance announced the details about the timelines and the models of the system.  

The implementation process in the UAE is divided into phases to make it a smooth transition: 

UAE Invoice Format & Templates

The invoices must follow certain formatting guidelines in order to abide by the impending e-invoicing regulations: 

To bring more clarity, FTA has released a dictionary that clarifies about details to be included in an invoice, while exchanging through PEPPOL and reporting to FTA.

E-Invoicing Framework in the UAE

The UAE's CTC e-invoicing architecture, known as the "DCTCE" model, is based on Peppol's "5-corner" approach. The "5-corner" model has five major components/5 corners: 

1. Issuer: The seller who issues invoice to the buyer.
2. Receiver: The person who receives the invoice.
3. E-Billing System by FTA:  integrates with Peppol PINT (Peppol Invoice Standard) for data sharing. The e-billing platform serves as an invoice repository, but does not validate invoices. FTA Will receive only tax related information from both Sender ASP and Receiver ASP.
4. Sender Accredited Service Provider (ASP): Verifies the data and sends the invoice to both the tax authority and the receiver ASP
5. Receiver Accredited Service Provider (ASP): Verify the received data, send an acknowledgement of receipt with tax data of invoice to FTA and send the e-invoice to the purchaser (the receiver).

How does this work in UAE?

Step 1:  The supplier generates an e-invoice and sends it to Flick (accredited e-invoicing provider) in an agreed format such as JSON. 

Step 2: Flick checks the validity of the received invoice and converts it into the UAE standard PINT AE format of e-invoice XML if it wasn't already. This ensures all invoices exchanged in the system follow a unified XML schema.

Step 3: Flick then sends the validated, converted e-invoice which is in PINT AE to the buyer’s accredited service provider. In parallel with this step, Flick also sends a tax document (TDD), a Tax relevant version or extract of the e-invoice to the FTA. 

Step 4: Buyer’s accredited service provider then checks the invoice for issues. It sends back a Message Level Status (MLS) to Flick. 

Step 5: Once validated, buyer’s accredited service provider delivers the invoice to the buyer in a format they’ve agreed to use.  

Step 6: Upon successful validation of the invoice, buyer’s service provider sends the tax data called the Tax Data Document or TDD to the government system (corner 5). If the invoice is not valid buyer’s service provider sends MLS to Flick and the Government system. But it does not send the TDD to the government. 

Step 7: Once the FTA (government system) processes the TDD from Flick, it sends a MLS back to Flick confirming successful submission (or indicating issues). Similarly, FTA sends a status message to buyer’s accredited provider about the TDD submission it received from them.

Step 8: Flick forwards the MLS from buyer’s accredited service provider and the government system to the supplier. 

Step 9: Buyer’s accredited service provider passes the reporting status it received from FTA to the buyer, completing the process on the buyer’s end.

E-invoicing Solution Providers in the UAE

The FTA is now accrediting e-invoicing solution providers. Businesses should choose providers that meet the following requirements:

• Peppol Certification: A Service Provider looking for Accreditation in UAE shall be an Active Member of Peppol and had done all Open Peppol Conformance tests, ensuring they achieve all Peppol Standards of eInvoicing.
• Minimum 2 Years of experience: A Service Provider applying for Accreditation in to be an EInvoicing Solution provider in UAE shall ensure enough documentation support that confirms their experience in the industry for at least 2 Years.
• Legally incorporated in UAE and 50,000 AED Capital: The Service Provider applying for Accreditation shall ensure legal incorporation in UAE, if the applicant is a Foreign company, they shall consider starting a Subsidiary company in UAE for eInvoicing Accreditation. Additionally the company applying for Accreditation should have a minimum 50,000 AED Paid-up Capital.
• ISO 22301 Certifications: For ensuring Business Continuity the service provider shall provide ISO 22301 Certification.
• Complying with PINT AE and Data Dictionary: The Service Provider shall follow all PINT AE and Data Dictionary Requirements published by Peppol and FTA.
• Multi-factor Authentication and Encryption: The Service Provider shall provide Multi-factor Authentication and Encryption during exchange of data between different corners to ensure Data Protection and Confidentiality for End-Users.ISO 270001 Certification: Service Provider shall obtain Certification for ISO 270001 for ensuring data protection standards are met.
• Self-Certification: A Self-Certification about Liquidity, Litigations, Legal Disputes, Black-listed if any, Bankruptcy, Criminal Proceedings and offering free exchange of 100 Documents. Will be explained more in our detailed Guide on Condition to get Accredited for eInvoicing in UAE.

• Insurance Requirements: The Service Provider should maintain a Professional Indemnity Insurance, Crime Insurance and Cyber Fraud Insurance worth of AED 2,500,000, AED 5,000,000 and AED 5,000,000 respectively in State.

  Refer our Guide on Procedures for Accreditation for eInvoicing Solution Providers in UAE.

How Flick Network helps your business with E-invoicing

Flick Network is a leading software company that offers e-invoicing in UAE. With over 5 years of experience, we offer FTA e-invoicing solutions in UAE that make managing invoices easy. Our platform helps you create, send, and track invoices while following all Federal Tax Authority rules. We prioritize providing the best solutions to make invoicing easier and more efficient. Learn more about us at About Flick.

• 5 Years of E-Invoicing Expertise
• 350+ Million E-Invoices Generated Annually
• 50+ Billion AED in Invoice Value Processed Annually
• 99.9% Success Rate in E-Invoice Generation

Features offered by Flick for UAE eInvoicing Integrations

• Global eInvoicing API
  • Flick’s Global eInvoicing APIs ensure global eInvoicing compliance with single integration efforts for enterprises especially having multiple regional presence. For eg: enterprises having presence in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore etc., achieve all regional e-invoicing compliance with single integration efforts with Flick Network.
• End-to-End ERP Integration
  • Flick’s internal ERP experts ensures end-to-end ERP Integration with every major ERPs including SAP, Oracle, MS Dynamics, Infor, Epicor, Wincor, Xero, Quickbooks, Zoho, Sage, Tally and much more.
• Automated Tax Reconciliation
  • Flick’s Automated Tax Reconciliation, ensure minimal reconciliation differences and helps Finance department in reconciling differences between ERP Data and FTA Submitted data.
• UAE Local Presence
  • Flick with technical and integration team, assigned from UAE can ensure smooth On-Site integration and training for UAE Business and users, to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
• 100+ Validations Before Processing
  • Flick’s Validation tools with 100+ Validation made before sending invoices via Peppol, reduces chances errors before sending invoice data to FTA or Peppol.

Conclusion

Although it has been planned that e-invoicing would be made mandatory in the UAE by 2026 July, some other varied issues related to its scope, legislation and procedure still remain.

Businesses who are registered for VAT should begin preparing in the meanwhile by changing their systems to meet expected compliance requirements. This requires modifying ERP or business systems to support real-time data transfer and e-invoicing formats.