New UAE invoicing rules. Here is what you must do, and by when.
From 2027, UAE businesses can no longer send invoices as PDFs or email attachments. Invoices must go through an approved provider in a set electronic format. We help you get ready, and we have no software to sell you.
Based on Federal Decree-Law 16/2024, Ministerial Decisions 243 and 244 of 2025, Ministerial Decision 66 of 2026, and Cabinet Decision 106 of 2025.
If you turn over AED 50 million or more, you must choose a provider within:
The deadline is 30 October 2026. Your system must be working by 1 January 2027.
This deadline has passed. The fine is AED 5,000 for every month you are late.
What is changing
Today you create an invoice and send it to your customer. From your start date, three things change.
The format changes
An invoice becomes structured data that software can read, not a PDF or a scan. PDFs, Word files, images and emailed invoices no longer count as invoices.
A middleman becomes compulsory
You must hire an approved company, called an Accredited Service Provider, to send your invoices. You cannot send them to the tax authority yourself. Your customer needs one too.
The tax authority sees it immediately
As your invoice travels to your customer, a copy is reported to the Federal Tax Authority at the same time. Nothing is checked later. It is checked as it goes.
Why this matters: if your invoice has a missing field or a wrong tax number, it is rejected on the way. Your customer never receives it. That is a cash flow problem before it is a tax problem.
What the law says
The short version. Full detail on the deadlines and penalties pages.
- Who it applies to
- Every business in the UAE, for every business-to-business sale. You are included even if you are not registered for VAT. Free zone companies are included.
- Who is left out
- Government work done in a sovereign role. Some international air travel and air freight services. Financial services that are VAT exempt or zero-rated. Sales to ordinary consumers are not included yet.
- How fast you must send
- If you are VAT registered, the existing VAT deadline applies. Otherwise you have 14 days from the date of the sale.
- Where records must be kept
- Inside the UAE. If your accounting system stores data abroad, you need to deal with that.
- If the system breaks
- Tell the tax authority within 2 working days. If your company details registered with the tax authority change, tell your provider within 5 working days. Both carry daily fines.
- Credit notes count too
- Cancellations, discounts, refunds and corrections all need an electronic credit note.
What it costs if you are late
These fines do not apply if you join early, before your official start date.
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Failure to implement the system, including failure to appoint an ASP on time | AED 5,000 per month or part month |
| Failure to issue and transmit an electronic invoice on time | AED 100 per invoice, capped at AED 5,000 per month |
| Failure to issue and transmit an electronic credit note on time | AED 100 per credit note, capped at AED 5,000 per month |
| Issuer fails to notify the FTA of a system failure on time | AED 1,000 per day or part day |
| Recipient fails to notify the FTA of a system failure on time | AED 1,000 per day or part day |
| Failure to notify your ASP of changes to data registered with the FTA | AED 1,000 per day or part day |
Four ways we work with you
We handle getting you ready. Sending the invoices is your provider's job.
Readiness check
We confirm your deadline, test your current invoices against the required fields, and list what is missing. You get a written report and a meeting to go through it.
2 to 3 weeksChoosing a provider
We give you a short list from the approved register, matched to your accounting system and your invoice volume, and tell you what to ask each one.
1 to 2 weeksCleaning up your data
Missing tax numbers, customer names that do not match trade licences, addresses stored as free text. This is the work that decides whether your first month goes smoothly.
Depends on sizeHelp during setup
For teams already working with a provider and running into problems. We review what you are being told, design the tests that matter, and check you are ready to go live.
Agreed by scope
We have nothing to sell you afterwards
Most advice on this subject is published by companies that also want to sell you the software. That is worth knowing when you read it.
- We are not a provider
- We hold no accreditation and send no invoices. Choosing a provider is a decision we help you make, not one we profit from.
- We take no commission
- No referral fee, no revenue share, no reseller margin from anyone on the register.
- We are not tax agents
- We do not represent you at the Federal Tax Authority. If your question needs a licensed tax adviser or a lawyer, we tell you and stop.
- You can check our facts
- Every date and figure links to the official document it came from.
Find out where you actually stand
A fixed-scope readiness assessment: confirmation of which phase applies to you, a mandatory-field gap analysis run against your real invoice output, the edge cases in your transaction mix that will fail in testing, and a shortlist of accredited providers matched to your ERP and your data residency position.
You get a written report and a working session to walk through it. Two to three weeks, priced before we start.
We take no commission from any provider, so the shortlist reflects fit, not our margin.
Prefer to talk first?
WhatsApp +971 54 548 1396
Call +971 54 548 1396
info@einvoicedubai.com
Sunday to Thursday, UAE hours. A short call costs you nothing and often settles the question.
Common questions
Has the deadline been pushed back?
Only part of it. In May 2026 the government moved the date for choosing a provider from 31 July to 30 October 2026. It did not move the date your system has to be working, which is still 1 January 2027. So you now have about nine weeks to get set up instead of five months.
We are not registered for VAT. Does this still apply?
Yes. The rules cover any business operating in the UAE. VAT registration affects how quickly you must send an invoice, not whether the rules apply to you.
We are a free zone company. Are we exempt?
No. Free zones are not on the exemption list. The exemptions are based on the type of transaction, not where the company is registered.
Our turnover is close to AED 50 million. Which deadline applies?
The test is total income in your last financial statements, which is not the same as your VAT turnover and is often higher. Getting this wrong by a small margin moves your deadline by eight months, so it is worth checking properly.
Can we start early?
Yes, and it is often a good idea. Early joining opened on 1 July 2026 and the fines do not apply to businesses that join voluntarily. You get to find your problems while mistakes are free.
Do we need a tax agent?
Not for this. Hiring an approved provider is separate from registering a tax agent. You need a provider to send invoices. You only need a tax agent if you want someone to represent you at the tax authority.
What does it cost to work with you?
A fixed price, agreed in writing before we start. No hourly billing against an open scope, and no fee tied to which provider you pick.
We have already missed the deadline. What now?
The fine grows every month until you comply, so the priority is choosing a provider and being able to show progress. We can run a shortened selection and start cleaning your data at the same time.
Primary sources
Every date, threshold and penalty on this site is taken from the instruments below and checked against them. Where we interpret rather than report, we say so in the text.
- Ministry of Finance — eInvoicing programme
- Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 — scope, exclusions, obligations
- Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 — phases and dates
- Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026 — Phase 1 appointment moved to 30 October 2026
- Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 — violations and penalties
- UAE Electronic Invoicing Guidelines v1.1, 1 June 2026
- Accredited Service Provider register
Last checked against source: .