Key facts
- Legal basis
- Ministerial Decisions No. 243 and No. 244 of 2025, as amended in 2026
- Format
- PINT-AE, based on Peppol
- Exchange
- through accredited service providers (ASPs)
- Revenue ≥ AED 50 million
- mandatory from 1 January 2027
- Revenue < AED 50 million
- mandatory from 1 July 2027
Overview
General information, not tax advice. The e-invoicing rules and timeline are set by the Ministry of Finance and may be updated — check mof.gov.ae and tax.gov.ae before you act.
The UAE is introducing mandatory electronic invoicing. Its legal basis is Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 on the Electronic Invoicing System and Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 on its implementation phases; both have been amended in 2026 (Ministerial Decisions No. 66 and No. 197 of 2026). An e-invoice is not a PDF sent by email: it is a structured data file in a defined format, exchanged between the seller's and buyer's systems and reported to the tax authority.
The first phases cover business-to-business and business-to-government transactions. Check the Ministry's current rules for the exact scope and any exclusions.
How it works: the 5-corner model
The UAE uses a decentralised continuous transaction control and exchange model with five “corners”:
- The seller creates the invoice in its accounting system.
- The seller's accredited service provider (ASP) validates it and sends it over the Peppol network.
- The buyer's ASP receives it.
- The buyer receives the invoice in its own system.
- The ASPs report the invoice data to the Federal Tax Authority's data platform.
Invoices use PINT-AE, the UAE specification of the Peppol International invoice format. Only accredited ASPs can connect to the network, so every business will need an ASP — either directly or through its accounting software.
Timeline
| Who | Appoint an ASP by | E-invoicing mandatory from |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot participants and voluntary adopters | — | from 1 July 2026 (voluntary) |
| Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more | 30 October 2026 | 1 January 2027 |
| Businesses with revenue below AED 50 million | 31 March 2027 | 1 July 2027 |
| Government entities | 31 March 2027 | 1 October 2027 |
Revenue means the revenue in your latest financial statements; for a newly established company, the projected revenue for the current financial year. Check the Ministry of Finance page for any later changes to the dates.
What to prepare
- Clean master data: your TRN and legal name, and the TRN, legal name and address of every business customer.
- Consistent item descriptions, units, tax categories (standard, zero-rated, exempt, reverse charge) and sequential invoice numbering.
- Credit notes linked to the original invoices.
- A choice of ASP: compare providers on the official list of accredited service providers, and check how your accounting software connects to them.
- A plan for receiving e-invoices from suppliers, not only for sending them.
- Internal responsibilities: who fixes rejected invoices, and who monitors the deadline for your phase.
How Ledgr helps
- Ledgr already keeps the data e-invoices need: TRNs, customer details, VAT treatment per line, sequential numbering and credit notes linked to invoices.
- The compliance calendar includes e-invoicing milestones (appointing an ASP, go-live) as tasks.
- Coming soon: sending and receiving PINT-AE e-invoices through an accredited ASP, directly from Ledgr.
Official sources
- Ministry of Finance — E-invoicing in the UAEmof.gov.ae/en/about-us/initiatives/einvoicing/
- Ministry of Finance — UAE tax legislationmof.gov.ae/en/public-finance/tax/
- Federal Tax Authority — VATtax.gov.ae/en/taxes/vat.aspx
General information, not tax advice. Rules change — check the current FTA and Ministry of Finance guidance before you act.