E-Invoicing Readiness Services in the UAE
Your invoicing set up for the national e-invoicing system, with a service provider appointed in time.
Getting a business ready for UAE e-invoicing
The UAE is moving invoices between businesses, and from businesses to government, onto a national electronic system run by the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Authority. We work out whether and when your business is in scope, help you compare and appoint an Accredited Service Provider before your deadline, and get your invoice data and records into the shape the rules require.
An e-invoice here is structured data, not a file: the Ministry states that “unstructured invoice formats such as pdf, word document, images, scanned copies and emails are not eInvoices” (Ministry of Finance, e-invoicing, page updated 13 November 2026). Which phase applies to you is confirmed with you at quotation.
What readiness covers
- Scope and phase check: your revenue, your customers (business, government or consumer) and the exclusions the decisions list
- Accredited Service Provider: a shortlist compared with you, and one appointed before your phase's deadline
- Invoice data: the fields your invoices must carry, mapped from the way you bill today
- Records kept for the period the rules set
- A readiness review with you before your go-live date
Get this quoted
Itemised in writing, government charges shown separately, before anything is filed.
Which one do you need?
Who is in scope
- Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more, the first phase under Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 as amended (Ministerial Resolution No. 66 of 2026)
- Businesses below AED 50 million, the second phase (MoF, 29 September 2025)
- Suppliers to government entities, whose customers are on their own timetable
- Businesses that want to start early: "Any Person may implement the Electronic Invoicing System on a voluntary basis as from 1 July 2026" (Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 4)
Sales to consumers are outside the system: "Business-to-Consumer Transactions shall not be subject to the Electronic Invoicing System" (Article 5(2)). Your position is confirmed with you at quotation.
What we need from you
- your trade licence and your VAT or Corporate Tax TRN
- revenue for your most recent accounting period; for this purpose the FTA defines revenue as "the gross income earned by a Person during the most recent Accounting Period" (FTA, page updated 2 November 2026)
- sample sales and purchase invoices and credit notes
- the name of the accounting or billing software you use
The final list is confirmed with you at quotation.
From scope check to go-live
- Scope: revenue, customer types and exclusions read against the decisions.
- Your two dates: the deadline to appoint a provider and the one to go live.
- A written quote.
- Provider shortlist and appointment, with your approval.
- Data mapping: your invoices checked against the fields the system needs.
- Readiness review before go-live, and records set up for the retention period.
The dates the Ministry has published
As the Ministry of Finance publishes them (Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 5(1), as amended by Ministerial Resolution No. 66 of 2026):
- Revenue of AED 50,000,000 or more: "shall appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 30 October 2026" and "shall implement the Electronic Invoicing System by 1 January 2027"
- Revenue below AED 50,000,000: a provider appointed by 31 March 2027; the system implemented by 1 July 2027
- Government entities: a provider appointed by 31 March 2027; the system implemented by 1 October 2027
- A voluntary start: "as from 1 July 2026" (Article 4)
- Issuing each e-invoice: "within fourteen (14) Business Days from the Date of Business Transaction" (Ministerial Decision No. 197 of 2026, in force from 1 October 2026)
Fees: Quote on request. Our service fee is quoted in writing after a short review of your file, and any authority charge is listed separately in your quote.
Who is in scope
The system starts from every business transaction of a person doing business in the UAE, then takes out what the decisions exclude: sales to consumers, sovereign government activity, certain airline services and financial services that are VAT-exempt or zero-rated among them. Transactions between members of the same Tax Group are excluded for 24 months from 1 January 2027. Your sales are read against that list before anything else.
The published dates
Every phase has two dates: one to appoint an Accredited Service Provider and a later one to go live. The first phase's appointment date was moved once already, to 30 October 2026, by Ministerial Resolution No. 66 of 2026, so the dates are read from the Ministry's page each time we quote.
Not published officially
- Dates beyond those in the decisions. The Ministry has published the phases quoted here and no later ones.
- Which provider to use. The Ministry accredits providers; it does not recommend one.
- Any total. We do not add charges together; your quote lists each one.
E-invoicing questions
Who has to use the e-invoicing system?
"Any Person conducting Business in the State in respect of every Business Transaction", unless the person or the transaction is excluded (Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025, Article 3).
Are sales to consumers included?
No: "Business-to-Consumer Transactions shall not be subject to the Electronic Invoicing System" (Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, Article 5(2)).
When does my business have to start?
By revenue: AED 50 million or more by 1 January 2027, below that by 1 July 2027, each with an earlier date to appoint a provider (Resolution No. 66 of 2026; MoF, 29 September 2025).
What is an Accredited Service Provider?
The provider through which e-invoices are sent and received. The FTA states that "Businesses in the UAE must engage with an Accredited Service Provider to issue and receive eInvoices" (FTA, updated 2 November 2026).
Is AL HUDHUD an Accredited Service Provider?
No. The Ministry accredits the providers; we help you compare and appoint one, and prepare your data and records for it.
Is a PDF invoice an e-invoice?
No. The Ministry says "unstructured invoice formats such as pdf, word document, images, scanned copies and emails are not eInvoices" (MoF).
How quickly must an e-invoice be issued?
"within fourteen (14) Business Days from the Date of Business Transaction" (Ministerial Decision No. 197 of 2026).
Which transactions are excluded?
Among others, sovereign government activity, certain international airline services and financial services that are exempt or zero-rated for VAT; transactions inside a Tax Group are excluded for 24 months from 1 January 2027 (Ministerial Decision No. 197 of 2026, Article 2).
Can a business start before its deadline?
Yes: "Any Person may implement the Electronic Invoicing System on a voluntary basis as from 1 July 2026" (Article 4).
What are the penalties?
They are set by Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025, amended by Cabinet Decision No. 173 of 2026; both are on the Ministry's e-invoicing page. Your position is reviewed against them at quotation.
Every rule, deadline and threshold above names the authority that published it and the date shown on its page when we read it on 14 November 2026: the Federal Tax Authority (tax.gov.ae), the Ministry of Finance (mof.gov.ae) and the federal portal u.ae. Tax rules, fees and processing times are set by the authorities and can change without notice; confirm with the FTA before you rely on them. AL HUDHUD prepares and files on your instructions; your position is confirmed with you at quotation, and every decision rests with the Federal Tax Authority.
Last updated: November 2026.
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