Saudi e-invoicing (FATOORA): what the rules say

Who must issue electronic invoices

Article 3 of the E-invoicing Regulation (4 December 2020) covers taxable persons resident in the Kingdom, and a customer or third party issuing a tax invoice on their behalf. They must issue electronic invoices for all transactions that require a tax invoice, and electronic credit and debit notes where the VAT Law requires them. Persons not resident in the Kingdom are not required to do so (art. 3, C).

Phase 1 and phase 2

Phase 1, generation, has applied since 4 December 2021. Phase 2, integration with ZATCA's FATOORA platform, started on 1 January 2023, in groups chosen by the Authority, each group being notified at least six months before its integration date (Detailed Guidelines for E-Invoicing, version 2, May 2023, § 1.3, Arabic version, which prevails).

Why a scanned or converted PDF is not an e-invoice

Article 1 of the Regulation: “A paper invoice that is converted into an electronic format through copying, scanning, or any other method is not considered an electronic invoice.” In phase 1, the tax invoice comes from an e-invoice generation solution that meets ZATCA's requirements (Detailed Guidelines, § 4.1.1); article 5 requires that solution to detect any tampering.

What a tax invoice shows

§ 4.2.3 of the Guideline lists, for information, the title “Tax Invoice”, the issue date and time, the date of supply if different, a sequential number, the supplier's name, address in the Kingdom and VAT number, the customer's name, address and VAT number, and for each line the description, unit price, quantity, discount, VAT rate and amounts before and after VAT.

Simplified tax invoice

It may be issued for a supply of less than SAR 1,000, or to a natural person not subject to VAT whatever the value (Guideline, § 4.3.1). It shows at least the date, the supplier's name, address and tax number, the goods or services, the price, and the tax or a statement that the price includes VAT at 15% (§ 4.3.2).

The QR code

For simplified electronic invoices and their notes, a QR code is mandatory, with the seller's name and VAT number, the invoice date and time, the total including VAT and the VAT total (implementing resolution, Annex 1).

Rate, language, currency, rounding

The basic VAT rate is 15% (Guideline, § 4.3.2). Invoices are issued in Arabic, plus any other language (§ 4.2.1). Tax is stated in Saudi riyals, converted at the Saudi Central Bank's daily rate on the date the tax becomes due (§ 4.2.2), and rounded to the nearest halala (§ 4.2.4).

What this site can do

The generator has no Saudi Arabia setting and makes no tax invoice, simplified tax invoice or credit note for Saudi Arabia. It can make a quote or a proforma in Arabic and English. The four ZATCA texts we read say nothing about quotes or proformas: we cannot tell you whether they are allowed, required or regulated. Ask ZATCA or a tax adviser.

Frequently asked questions