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UAE Tax Invoice Requirements: Fields, Format, E-Invoicing

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Octate Team

2026-11-03

UAE Tax Invoice Requirements: Fields, Format, E-Invoicing

What a UAE tax invoice must show: the 12 required details, simplified invoices, the 14-day rule, AED and rounding, credit notes, and what e-invoicing changes.

A UAE tax invoice is the document a VAT-registered business must issue and deliver for every taxable supply. A full tax invoice must show 12 details, including the words "Tax Invoice", both parties' TRNs, a sequential number, and the VAT and amount payable in AED. It must be issued within 14 days of the date of supply. Once e-invoicing applies to you, your tax invoices to businesses must be issued as structured e-invoices instead of PDFs.

How we wrote this guide. The rules come from the UAE VAT law (Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 and its amendments), Articles 59 and 60 of its Executive Regulation as amended to September 2026, the Federal Tax Authority's (FTA) public clarification on tax invoices (VATP006) and the Ministry of Finance's e-invoicing Guidelines. For a specific case, ask your tax adviser or the FTA. Facts last verified: 3 November 2026.

Who Must Issue a Tax Invoice

Under Article 65 of the VAT law, a VAT-registered business that makes a taxable supply must issue an original tax invoice and deliver it to the customer. For a deemed supply, it issues the invoice to the recipient if there is one, or keeps it in its records.

The FTA's clarification VATP006 is firm on two points:

  • Every standard-rated supply needs a tax invoice, even when a simplified one is allowed.
  • Printing an invoice only if the customer asks doesn't count. The invoice must actually be issued and delivered.

There is one exception for wholly zero-rated supplies: if there are or will be sufficient records to establish the details of the supply, no tax invoice is required. This exception doesn't apply to e-invoices (see below).

A business that isn't registered for VAT doesn't issue tax invoices. Under e-invoicing it issues commercial e-invoices instead.

The 12 Details a Full Tax Invoice Must Show

Article 59(1) of the Executive Regulation lists them:

  1. The words "Tax Invoice", clearly displayed.
  2. Your name, address and Tax Registration Number (TRN).
  3. The customer's name, address and TRN, if the customer is VAT-registered.
  4. A sequential invoice number, or a unique number that identifies the invoice and its place in the sequence.
  5. The date of issue.
  6. The date of supply, if it differs from the date of issue.
  7. A description of the goods or services.
  8. For each item: the unit price, the quantity, the VAT rate and the amount payable in AED.
  9. Any discount offered.
  10. The gross amount payable in AED.
  11. The VAT charged in AED, with the exchange rate used if the invoice is in another currency.
  12. Where the customer must account for the VAT under the reverse charge, a statement saying so, with a reference to the relevant provision of the VAT law.

VATP006 adds that on a full tax invoice each line has to show its net value and its VAT. The gross value per line is optional.

Simplified Tax Invoices

A simplified tax invoice needs only five details (Article 59(2)):

  1. The words "Tax Invoice", clearly displayed.
  2. Your name, address and TRN.
  3. The date of issue.
  4. A description of the goods or services.
  5. The total amount and the VAT charged, in AED.

You may issue one instead of a full tax invoice in two cases (Article 59(5)):

  • The customer isn't VAT-registered.
  • The customer is VAT-registered and the supply is AED 10,000 or less.

Two limits apply. Simplified invoices can't be used where the reverse charge applies, and they must be issued on the date of supply. VATP006 confirms that line items on a simplified invoice can be shown at their gross value, without the net amount.

When to Issue It

  • Full tax invoice: within 14 days of the date of supply (VAT law Article 67, Executive Regulation Article 59(13)).
  • Simplified tax invoice: on the date of supply.
  • Summary tax invoice: if you make several supplies to the same customer in a month, you can cover them in one summary tax invoice, delivered within 14 days of the end of that calendar month (Article 59(6) and 59(13)).
  • E-invoices: Ministerial Decision No. 197 of 2026 sets the limit for issuing an e-invoice or e-credit note at 14 business days.

The VAT law counts 14 days and the e-invoicing rules count 14 business days. Check which applies to each invoice, and aim for the earlier date.

AED, Exchange Rates and Rounding

  • AED amounts: the VAT and the amount payable must be shown in dirhams, even if you invoice in another currency.
  • Exchange rate: convert at the rate approved by the UAE Central Bank on the date of supply (VAT law Article 69), and show the rate on the invoice.
  • Rounding: VAT that works out to a fraction of a fils may be rounded to the nearest fils. VATP006 says to do this line by line.

Our guide to calculating UAE VAT has worked examples of each.

Self-Billing and Agents

  • Self-billing: a VAT-registered customer can raise the tax invoice for its supplier if both agree in writing that the supplier won't issue one. The invoice must contain all 12 details and show the words "Tax Invoice raised by buyer" (Article 59(9)).
  • Agents: a VAT-registered agent can issue the tax invoice for a supply it makes on behalf of its principal, as if it had made the supply itself, provided the principal doesn't also issue one and both keep records of each other's name, address and TRN (Article 59(11)).

Under e-invoicing, self-billing needs the buyer to be on the e-invoicing system, according to the MoF's Guidelines.

Tax Credit Notes

When the VAT on a supply goes down, for example after a return, a price correction or a discount given after the sale, you must issue a tax credit note (VAT law Article 70). Article 60 of the Executive Regulation lists what it must show:

  1. The words "Tax Credit Note", clearly displayed.
  2. Your name, address and TRN.
  3. The customer's name, address and TRN, if the customer is VAT-registered.
  4. The date of issue.
  5. The value on the original tax invoice, the correct value, the difference, and the VAT on that difference, in AED.
  6. A short explanation of why the credit note was issued.
  7. Enough information to identify the supply it relates to.

If you issue more than one credit note against the same invoice, each one starts from the value as adjusted by the previous note.

What E-Invoicing Changes

Once e-invoicing applies to you (mandatory from 1 July 2027 for most businesses under AED 50 million), the VAT law requires tax invoices and tax credit notes to be issued and transmitted as e-invoices and e-credit notes (Articles 65(5) and 70(4)). In practice:

  • The format changes. A tax invoice becomes structured PINT AE data, exchanged by Accredited Service Providers (ASPs), not a PDF. It carries the Ministry of Finance's mandatory fields: 51 for an electronic tax invoice. See what PINT AE is.
  • Some exceptions stop applying. Article 59(16) switches off several rules for invoices issued as e-invoices, including simplified tax invoices and the zero-rated exception.
  • PDFs don't disappear at once. When a buyer hasn't adopted e-invoicing yet, the Guidelines still require a regular tax invoice, such as a PDF, alongside the e-invoice.
  • Consumer sales stay outside for now. Business-to-consumer sales are outside the e-invoicing system until the Minister decides otherwise, so they still use regular tax invoices.

Our UAE e-invoicing guide for SMEs covers the dates, ASPs and a checklist.

A Tax Invoice Layout You Can Copy

Use this layout for a full tax invoice. It covers all 12 details.

  • Header: "Tax Invoice", your business name, address and TRN, the invoice number, the date of issue, and the date of supply if different.
  • Customer: name, address and TRN (if VAT-registered).
  • Lines: description, quantity, unit price, net amount, VAT rate, VAT amount and line total, in AED.
  • Totals: any discount, the total excluding VAT, the total VAT and the gross amount payable, in AED.
  • Foreign currency: the exchange rate used.
  • Reverse charge, where it applies: a statement that the customer must account for the VAT, citing the relevant article of the VAT law.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the words "Tax Invoice".
  • Missing the customer's TRN on an invoice to a VAT-registered customer.
  • Showing VAT only in a foreign currency, without the AED amount and the exchange rate.
  • Using a simplified invoice for a supply over AED 10,000 to a VAT-registered customer.
  • Rounding VAT on the total instead of on each line.
  • Issuing late, after the 14-day limit.
  • Not delivering the invoice and offering to print it only on request.

Where Octate Fits

Octate applies VAT to every sale, purchase and expense, and creates PINT AE e-invoices from sales orders, delivery notes or manual entries, in the same ledger as your sales and VAT. Octate isn't on the MoF register of ASPs. See accounting and VAT and UAE e-invoicing.

Quick Answers

What is a tax invoice in the UAE? The document a VAT-registered business must issue and deliver for every taxable supply, showing the VAT charged. Its required details are set by Article 59 of the VAT Executive Regulation.

What must a UAE tax invoice include? The words "Tax Invoice", your name, address and TRN, the customer's details and TRN if registered, a sequential number, dates, a description, per-line prices, quantities, VAT rates and amounts in AED, any discount, the gross amount and the VAT in AED, and a reverse charge statement where needed.

What is a simplified tax invoice in the UAE? A shorter tax invoice with five details, allowed when the customer isn't VAT-registered or when a registered customer's supply is AED 10,000 or less. It must be issued on the date of supply.

When must a tax invoice be issued? Within 14 days of the date of supply. E-invoices must be issued within 14 business days.

Does a UAE tax invoice have to be in AED? The VAT and the amount payable must be shown in AED. You can invoice in another currency if you also show the AED amounts and the exchange rate.

Can I issue tax invoices electronically? Yes. From your e-invoicing date, invoices to businesses must be e-invoices in the PINT AE format, not PDFs.

What is a tax credit note? The document you issue when the VAT on a supply goes down, showing the original value, the correct value, the difference and the VAT on that difference in AED.

Do businesses that aren't VAT-registered issue tax invoices? No. Under e-invoicing, they issue commercial e-invoices.

Is there an official UAE tax invoice template? No, there's no official template. The law lists what the invoice must show, and the layout above covers all 12 details.

Sources

Checked on 3 November 2026.

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