Key takeaways
- Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 sets the scope; No. 244 of 2025 sets the phased dates.
- Revenue of AED 50 million or more: appoint an Accredited Service Provider (ASP) by 31 July 2026, go live 1 January 2027.
- Revenue below AED 50 million: appoint an ASP by 31 March 2027, go live 1 July 2027.
- B2C transactions are excluded for now.
The timeline
| Who | Appoint an ASP by | Go live |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot participants and voluntary adopters | — | from 1 July 2026 |
| Revenue AED 50 million or more | 31 July 2026 | 1 January 2027 |
| Revenue below AED 50 million | 31 March 2027 | 1 July 2027 |
| Government entities | 31 March 2027 | 1 October 2027 |
If your revenue is AED 50 million or more and you have not yet appointed an ASP, you are already behind the 31 July 2026 deadline. Speak to a provider now.
Who is in scope
Any person doing business in the UAE is in scope, with some exclusions, including:
- government entities acting in a sovereign capacity;
- international passenger air transport and related electronic tickets;
- international air cargo with airway bills (for 24 months);
- VAT-exempt or zero-rated financial services.
Businesses that only sell to consumers (B2C) are excluded until a future date set by the Minister.
What changes in practice
- Invoices are no longer PDFs emailed to customers. They are structured data sent through your ASP to your customer's ASP and reported to the FTA.
- E-invoices and credit notes must be issued and sent within 14 days of the transaction.
- Your customer master data — names, TRNs, addresses — has to be clean, because the system checks it.
Your preparation checklist
- Confirm your phase. Base it on your annual revenue.
- Appoint an ASP before your deadline and check it connects to your ERP or accounting system.
- Clean your master data. Verify every customer and supplier TRN, legal name and address.
- Map your invoice fields to the e-invoice data standard with your ASP.
- Review credit-note and invoicing workflows so documents go out within 14 days.
- Test with real transactions before go-live, then keep a fallback process for system outages.
For more on getting your data ready, see UAE e-invoicing: getting your ERP data ready.
General information, not tax advice. Rules change; check the latest FTA guidance or speak to a registered tax agent about your situation.
FAQ
Does UAE e-invoicing apply to sales to consumers?
Not yet. Business-to-consumer transactions are excluded until a date the Minister of Finance will announce.
What is an Accredited Service Provider?
An ASP is a provider approved to exchange e-invoices and report invoice data to the FTA on your behalf. Every business in scope must appoint one by its phase deadline.
How quickly must an e-invoice be issued?
E-invoices and credit notes must be issued and transmitted within 14 days of the underlying transaction.
About the author
Zubair Akbar
Chartered Accountant, Group CFO and FTA-approved Tax Agent (TAAN 20059440) with 16+ years in audit, tax and finance across the UAE and Pakistan.
More about Zubair →