The UAE is moving to structured e-invoices exchanged over the Peppol network. AYLA prepares your ERP, data and processes, and connects your ERP to the Accredited Service Provider you choose.
Under the UAE Electronic Invoicing System, an e-invoice is a structured, machine-readable XML file — not a PDF, a Word file, a scan or an emailed image. E-invoices are exchanged over the Peppol network through Accredited Service Providers, and tax data is reported to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) at the same time.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) lists business benefits such as faster payment cycles, fewer invoice disputes, lower processing and archiving costs and, potentially, pre-filled VAT returns.
Legal basis: Federal Decree-Laws No. 16 and No. 17 of 2024; Ministerial Decisions No. 64, No. 243 and No. 244 of 2025, with the 2026 amendments to Decisions No. 64 and No. 244; and Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 on penalties.
Structured XML in the PINT AE format
Exchanged over Peppol via Accredited Service Providers
Tax data reported to the FTA
No QR code or barcode
Machine-readable invoice data in a standard XML format, with no QR code or barcode.
The UAE version of the Peppol International invoice specification, with billing and self-billing variants.
The international e-invoicing network maintained by OpenPeppol, on which UAE e-invoicing runs.
Ministry-accredited providers exchange e-invoices and report tax data. Each business in scope appoints one, for both sending and receiving.
E-invoicing becomes mandatory in phases: larger businesses first, then all other businesses in scope, then government entities. The Ministry of Finance described its 2026 deadline extension as a targeted and final adjustment and said no further extensions will be granted.
Businesses invited by the Ministry of Finance take part in the pilot, and any business, whatever its revenue, may adopt e-invoicing voluntarily.
Larger businesses must appoint an Accredited Service Provider first, then have e-invoicing in place.
All other businesses in scope follow the same two steps, on later dates.
Government entities follow the same two steps, with their own go-live date.
For the AED 50 million threshold, revenue means gross income in your most recent accounting period, based on your financial statements.
Transactions between members of the same VAT group get a temporary 24-month e-invoicing grace period.
Source: UAE Ministry of Finance — Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, as amended by Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026. Dates last reviewed on 6 October 2026. Always confirm current requirements with the Ministry of Finance or the Federal Tax Authority.
The UAE uses a Decentralised Continuous Transaction Control and Exchange (DCTCE) model. Each e-invoice travels from the supplier’s Accredited Service Provider to the buyer’s, and both providers report tax data to the FTA.
Your ERP produces the invoice data and passes it to your Accredited Service Provider.
It validates the data, converts it to a PINT AE XML e-invoice, sends it over Peppol and reports tax data to the FTA.
It validates the e-invoice, delivers it to the buyer and also reports tax data to the FTA.
Confirmation messages flow back to the supplier and the buyer.
Your Peppol ID — 0235 followed by your 10-digit Tax Identification Number (TIN), which is the first 10 digits of your Tax Registration Number (TRN).
E-invoicing applies to every person doing business in the UAE, for every business transaction, whether or not they are VAT-registered, unless an exclusion applies.
Business to business
Business to government, including supplies through UAE government procurement portals
Government to business
Government to government
Sales to consumers stay outside the system until the Minister of Finance decides otherwise. Businesses that sell only to consumers are not currently subject to it.
Government activities in a sovereign capacity that do not compete with the private sector
International passenger flights with an e-ticket, and related ancillary services
VAT-exempt or zero-rated financial services under Article 42 of the VAT Executive Regulation
International air cargo billed with an airway bill — temporarily, for 24 months
Imports of goods and services taxed under the reverse-charge mechanism
Businesses in scope that are not registered for any UAE tax must still register with the FTA to get a TIN.
Exports need e-invoices too. If the foreign buyer has no Peppol ID, the supplier uses a predefined UAE endpoint.
Key duties for businesses in scope, drawn from Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 and the Ministry of Finance’s e-invoicing guidelines.
Issue and send each e-invoice and e-credit note within 14 days of the transaction date. VAT-registered businesses must also meet the VAT Law’s issuance timeline.
Appoint one Accredited Service Provider for both sending and receiving e-invoices.
On the MoF mandatory-fields list: 51 for an electronic tax invoice, 49 for a commercial (non-tax) e-invoice.
Keep e-invoices, e-credit notes and related data for the Tax Procedures Law periods: generally 5 years, and 7 years for real estate records.
To notify the FTA of an e-invoicing system failure — for issuers and recipients alike.
To tell your ASP in writing about any change to your FTA-registered details, counted from the FTA’s confirmation.
Issue e-credit notes for cancellations, price reductions, full or partial refunds, and administrative or numerical errors.
Report e-invoices and e-credit notes to the FTA through your ASP — issuers and recipients both report.
Show the VAT amount and the amount payable in UAE dirhams (AED) on tax invoices, even when invoicing in another currency.
Work within PINT AE: businesses cannot add their own custom fields.
Even when an Accredited Service Provider handles exchange and reporting, legal responsibility for compliance stays with your business.
Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 sets administrative penalties for breaking the e-invoicing rules.
Existing VAT and tax-procedure penalties under Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 can still apply when tax invoicing obligations are not met.
Administrative penalties
Not implementing e-invoicing, or not appointing an ASP on time
for each month, or part of a month, of delay
Not issuing or sending an e-invoice or e-credit note on time
per document, capped at AED 5,000 per calendar month
Late notice to the FTA of a system failure
per day of delay
Late notice to your ASP of changes to FTA-registered data
per day of delay
Voluntary adopters · These penalties do not apply to businesses using the system voluntarily before their mandatory date.
We work on the ERP side of e-invoicing: your systems, your data and your processes. We are not an Accredited Service Provider — we help you choose one and connect your ERP to it.
AYLA is not an Accredited Service Provider and does not exchange or report e-invoices.
Confirm your phase, deadlines, in-scope entities and transaction types, then compare your ERP and data against the mandatory fields.
Map your ERP fields to PINT AE and clean up master data: TRNs, addresses, item codes and tax categories.
Configure or extend your ERP so it can produce every data point an e-invoice requires, including for e-credit notes.
Vendor-neutral criteria to compare providers on the MoF-published list, so you can appoint one by your deadline.
Connect your ERP to your chosen provider for outgoing and incoming e-invoices and e-credit notes.
Test real scenarios before launch — credit notes, exports, free zone and other special cases.
A planned cut-over, close support right after launch, and training for finance, sales and procurement teams.
Follow up rejected invoices, keep master data current and keep track of regulatory updates.
Whatever your deadline, these steps take time. Starting early leaves room for proper testing.
A readiness assessment confirms your phase, identifies your gaps and gives you a practical plan to close them.
Short answers to common questions about UAE e-invoicing.
Have a question that is not listed here?
Yes, if your business is in scope. An Accredited Service Provider (ASP) is a provider accredited by the Ministry of Finance to exchange e-invoices over Peppol and report tax data to the FTA. Each business in scope appoints one ASP for both sending and receiving. AYLA is not an ASP: we help you choose one and connect your ERP to it.
PINT AE is the UAE e-invoice data standard — the UAE version of the Peppol International invoice specification, with billing and self-billing variants. It defines the structured XML your e-invoices must follow, and businesses cannot add their own custom fields to it.
Not as an e-invoice. PDFs, Word files, scans and emailed images do not count as e-invoices. While some buyers are not yet on the system, you may need to give them a regular tax invoice, such as a PDF, as well as the e-invoice.
Not for now. Sales to consumers are outside the e-invoicing system until the Minister of Finance decides otherwise, and businesses that sell only to consumers are not currently subject to it.
In many cases, yes. Your system must be able to produce every data point an e-invoice requires, and the Ministry of Finance advises businesses to run a gap analysis and plan system changes and integration with their service provider. Older or heavily customised systems may need more work; a readiness assessment confirms what yours needs.
Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 sets the penalties. For example: AED 5,000 for each month, or part of a month, of delay in implementing e-invoicing or appointing an ASP; and AED 100 for each e-invoice or e-credit note not issued and sent on time, capped at AED 5,000 per calendar month. These penalties do not apply to businesses using the system voluntarily before their mandatory date.
It depends on your ERP, the quality of your data, your invoice volumes and the number of entities involved. A readiness assessment gives you a realistic plan and timeline, and the earlier you start, the more room you leave for testing.
E-invoicing readiness.From first check to go-live.
Tell us about your business and your ERP. We will help you confirm your phase, find the gaps and plan a clear path to go-live with your chosen Accredited Service Provider.