E-Invoicing Compliance & Documentation Services in UAE
Ensure full UAE e-invoicing compliance with expert support for FTA rules, documentation, validation, and ongoing regulatory updates.
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) are in charge of planning for the switch to value-added tax (VAT) e-invoicing. A gradual rollout began in late 2024 with directions for service providers to follow. This was followed by changes to the law and testing of the system in the second quarter of 2025. In the second quarter of 2026, full-scale usage will start.
Value-added tax (VAT)-registered businesses will have to use authorised service providers (ASP) to create, send, and swap digital bills. After the new rules go into effect in 2026, invoices that are on paper, scanned, or in picture form will no longer be accepted. HH & Hale helps Businesses get ready for the transition as instructed by the government so that they don’t run into any technical or legal problems during the changeover.
Scope of the UAE’s New E-Invoicing System
Businesses will have to use a five-corner model built on the Peppol network to send and receive bills after the new system is put in place. This model will work for both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) deals, even if one or both of the parties is not registered for VAT.
Implementation will happen in stages, but the FTA’s ultimate goal is to cover all taxed activities in the UAE and more. At the moment, the business-to-consumer (B2C) bills are not included in this method.
Commercial invoices can still be sent to people who don’t pay taxes or for activities that aren’t taxed, but they aren’t tax invoices. Also, goods from foreign sellers that are self-billed are not required to follow Peppol-based e-invoicing rules.
How the Five-Corner E-Invoicing Model Works
The UAE’s system for electronic billing will be based on the Peppol standard and have five corners. E-invoices will be sent between sellers and buyers through registered and ASPs in this design. The FTA’s platform will be the main hub for control and proof.
The five-corner form is put together like this:
- An issuer is a business that makes an invoice, and a receiver is a customer or buyer who receives the invoice.
- The sender’s ASP checks the invoice data and sends it to both the FTA and the receiver’s ASP at the same time.
- The receiver’s ASP then checks the incoming data and sends the invoice to the buyer.
- The FTA’s e-billing platform acts as a central repository. It keeps track of the document but doesn’t check what’s on it.
This system will be used to make, send, share, and store all e-invoices. Under the Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) method, the system aims to provide approval in real time or very close to real time. The FTA platform will only check the text of invoices before they are sent to the buyer as a clearance step.
How E-invoices are Documented?
Bills need to be sent in either the Universal Business Language (UBL 2.1) or the UAE Peppol Specifications (UAE-PINT) format, and they can be in either XML or JSON format. The Tax Identification Number (TIN) (the first 10 digits of the tax registration number) of both the buyer and the seller must be on every invoice. This will give each invoice its own unique number in the e-invoicing network.
These file types can’t be used for e-invoices:
- PDF or Word invoices that aren’t structured; JPG or TIFF images of invoices; HTML invoices that aren’t structured on a website or in an email; OCR invoices that are scanned paper invoices; or
- Fax machines can send paper bills along with pictures.
- If you file as a VAT group, each person of the group needs to have their own address through a UAE-ASP. The Tax Registration Number (TRN) of the group is used by all members, but each payment must show which person is making the purchase. This makes sure that tax obligations at the company level can be tracked and reported correctly.
Compliance Requirements for the Taxpayers
All VAT-registered businesses will have to make and send bills online using a standard format under this new digital method. It will be the same for both B2B and B2G deals, and it doesn’t matter if the receiver is registered for VAT or not.
Businesses that pay taxes need to remember the following to stay in line:
- Bills need to be sent to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) in real time by an approved ASP;
- Even if payment is made right away, the date it’s due must be written down;
- Each member of a VAT group needs to have its own address through an ASP. Even though the Tax Registration Number (TRN) of the group is shared, all transactions must include the name and address of the company sending the bill.
- Invoices must be made in XML or JSON forms that computers can read, and they must follow standards like UBL (Universal Business Language) or PINT (Peppol Invoice Standard).
- The UAE Peppol Authority does not force businesses to deal with them directly. The ASP will take care of all of their communication and compliance needs; and
- According to the way VAT works now, mistakes on tax bills must be fixed with credit notes.
Businesses in the UAE should start looking at their current systems, choosing ASPs, and getting their workers ready for the new standards as soon as possible so that the system goes live smoothly in 2026.
MadronoAI make the whole process smooth for you.
Reporting and Dealing with Errors
If there are technical problems, like when the internet goes down or a service node goes down, ASPs and access points should store data and send it when the connection is restored.
The needed Technical Data Document (TDD) must be sent almost in real time, but it can be sent in groups if that’s what the Service Level Agreement (SLA) says.
The TIN is used as a business number when sending invoices, so companies that aren’t already registered with the FTA will need to do so before they can use e-invoicing.
For Billing Across Borders
If the foreign buyer is already signed up for the Peppol network, their email address (endpoint) must be added for export deals. They can use a fake address if they are not listed, and trade will not happen through the Peppol system.
The seller’s service provider (Corner 2) still sends the bill to the FTA (Corner 5), though. In this case, sellers can give the buyer a PDF copy that is not on the Peppol network.
Also, buyers from outside the UAE don’t have to sign up with a UAE eInvoicing service provider unless the law says they have to.
Accredited Service Providers for Electronic Invoicing
E-invoicing service providers in the UAE will only be able to work with companies that have been approved by the FTA. To work within the five-corner model, companies must be accredited. This makes sure that they meet all of the legal, technical, and security standards set out in this paper.
In order to be eligible, a service provider must:
- Be a legal entity based in the UAE with at least AED 50,000 (US$13,612.7) in paid-up capital;
- Be in business for at least one year as of the submission date (either the locally incorporated company or their parent company);
- Show that they fully understand and can operate the UAE Peppol Specifications (UAE-PINT);
- Adhere to real-time or nearly real-time transmission protocols;
- Use the Ministry of Finance’s Data Dictionary to make sure that data is safe and that people are who they say they are when they exchange invoices;
- Keep all e-invoicing traffic’s tools up and running all the time and store it; and
- Get certified in ISO/IEC 27001 management.
E-invoicing service providers like MadronoAI have gone through things like system checks, lab testing, and signing up with the FTA in order to get official approval.
How Your Business Can Get Ready for The E-Invoicing Transition
Companies of all kinds will have to follow the steps, even those that currently do their billing by hand or with some automation. So it’s a good idea to be ready with some of these steps:
- Check to see if the current billing tools can handle UBL 2.1 and XML data types;
- Hire accounting and reporting firms to help you plan how to connect your business to ASPs like MadronoAI.
- Find all the billing flows, such as exports, self-billed transactions, and sales within the same group;
- Check the accounts and business resource planning (ERP) tools to make sure that digital signatures, timestamps, and storage can be set up;
- Start teaching your own finance, law, and tax teams on the new rules they need to follow;
- Watch out for future FTA circulars in Q2 2025 that will spell out fines and how to enforce the agreement; and
- You might want to take part in FTA testing programs to lower the risks of merging during the live phase.
Why Should You Partner with MadronoAI for E-invoicing Compliance?
When choosing a partner for a mission-critical task like billing, you need to trust and believe in them. MadronoAI to build a product that fits the needs and possibilities of the UAE market from the very beginning.
We make sure that safety and business excellence go smoothly.
Here’s how e-invoicing solution provided by MadronoAI, meets the most important requirements for a good e-invoicing service:
- Guaranteed Compliance in the UAE: As the rules for the 2026 mission are being made, our team is very involved. We promise that the e-invoicing platform will fully meet all of the requirements set by the UAE government. Madrono AI cloud-based system will handle all changes automatically.
- Integration Experts for ERP: We are experts at linking to the systems you already use. MadronoAI has ready-made links for popular ERPs like SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics. It also has a powerful, well-documented API for building custom integrations. Our skilled team makes sure that the merging process goes quickly and smoothly.
- Unbeatable Support and Clear Pricing: We believe in working together, that’s why our support team is based in the UAE and is ready to help you and your trade partners through the shift and beyond. Our prices are clear and there are no secret fees, so you can make budgeting decisions with trust.
- Safety You Can Count On: A safe, expandable cloud system, including ISO 27001, is what MadronoAI will build for you. It meets the strictest international security standards. We make sure that your data is safe and follows all local rules about data location, so you can rest easy.