UAE e-invoicing for small businesses: dates, fines and how to choose an ASP

Quick answers

What is this page?

A plain-language hub on UAE e-invoicing: the official Ministry of Finance timeline for 2026 and 2027, the AED penalties, who is covered, how a small business should choose an accredited service provider (ASP) and what to do now, with links to the decisions it is based on.

Who is it for?

UAE businesses that invoice other businesses or government entities, and anyone who needs the official dates and scope in one place.

Does e-invoicing replace my normal VAT invoices today?

Not until your own go-live date. Until then, a correct tax invoice as a PDF or on paper remains valid.

When do the first businesses go live?

On 1 January 2027, for businesses with annual revenue of AED 50 million or more. Their deadline to appoint an ASP was 30 October 2026 (Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, amended by No. 66 of 2026).

Key dates: when to appoint an ASP and go live

From Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, as amended by Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026. The deadline to appoint an ASP comes before go-live, so it is the date to plan around. Each row links the article it comes from.

Dates are from Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 and Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026, which moved the AED 50M+ appointment deadline and left every other date unchanged, as published by the UAE Ministry of Finance. Revenue means gross income in your most recent accounting period (Art. 1). A business that invoices government (B2G) follows its own revenue row; the government row is for government entities themselves. "Not yet announced" means the MoF has not published a date. Last checked 1 November 2026.

Which deadline is mine?

Two questions. Nothing is sent anywhere; the answer is worked out in your browser.

Want a fuller answer, including B2C-only sellers? Use the e-invoicing readiness checker.

How e-invoicing works

Today you can send a tax invoice as a PDF or on paper. From your go-live date, an in-scope invoice must be a structured file (XML in the PINT AE format) sent through your ASP over the Peppol network. A PDF alone no longer counts as the e-invoice, though you can still send one alongside it. See e-invoice vs PDF.

The UAE uses a 5-corner model: you, your ASP, your buyer's ASP and your buyer, plus the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) as the fifth corner. Your ASP reports the required tax data to the FTA as the invoice passes through. You do not write or read the XML; your ASP and your invoicing software handle it. More in Peppol and PINT AE in plain English and PINT AE mandatory fields.

• You will receive supplier e-invoices through the network too, so your ASP must receive as well as send (I only receive invoices: do I need an ASP?).
• What goes on the invoice does not change: your TRN, the correct VAT and the usual tax invoice fields. See how to create a VAT invoice in the UAE. Your customers' details need more than before (what customer details an e-invoice needs), and corrections go as e-credit notes (credit notes and corrections).
• Arabic is not required: the e-invoicing rules and PINT AE set no language, and English, Arabic or both are fine. See does a UAE e-invoice have to be in Arabic?

Who is covered: B2B, B2G and B2C

Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 applies to any person doing business in the UAE, unless the person or the transaction is excluded. In practice:

• B2B and B2G: in scope. Invoices to businesses and government entities must be e-invoices from your go-live date.
• B2C: not part of the mandatory phases. If you sell to both businesses and consumers, only your business and government invoices are covered.

Excluded, as amended by Ministerial Decision No. 197 of 2026 (in force from 1 October 2026):

• Sovereign activities of government entities that do not compete with the private sector
• International passenger air transport where an electronic ticket is issued
• Financial services that are VAT-exempt or zero-rated
• Transactions between members of the same VAT tax group, for 24 months from 1 January 2027

Exports, exempt supplies and marketplace sales: does e-invoicing apply?

Fines for not complying

From Cabinet Decision No. 173 of 2026, announced by the MoF on 30 October 2026. It replaced Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 and dropped the old AED 1,000 a day penalty for not reporting a system failure.

• When they apply: only from your own mandatory date. Invoices you send as a voluntary adopter before then carry no e-invoicing penalties (the decision, Art. 2(2); MoF Guidelines v2.0, §8.2 and §11). The decisions do not set a separate penalty for appointing an ASP late. For businesses under AED 50 million, per-invoice penalties apply from 1 July 2027: AED 100 for each e-invoice or e-credit note not sent through the system, up to AED 5,000 a month (Cabinet Decision No. 173 of 2026).
• In force from: the day after publication in the Official Gazette (Art. 5). The Gazette date is not yet announced on the MoF site.
• One penalty per violation: if you are both issuer and recipient for the same violation, it is charged once (Art. 3(2)).
• Ordinary VAT invoice penalties still apply on top, for example for not issuing a compliant tax invoice (Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017, as amended).

How to choose an ASP: 6 questions to ask

Every provider on the MoF register of accredited service providers has already passed the same accreditation checks, including Peppol certification and ISO/IEC 27001 (Ministerial Decision No. 168 of 2026). What differs is fit, so ask these six questions before you sign. The MoF also publishes its own considerations for selecting an ASP. We do not recommend any provider.

1. 1

   Is the provider on the official list of accredited providers?

2. 2

   Does it work with the software you use for invoices?

   If not, you'll end up typing everything twice.

3. 3

   How does it charge: per invoice or by subscription?

   Count how many invoices you send in a month before comparing prices.

4. 4

   Does it receive incoming invoices too, and keep an archive?

   VAT records must be kept for at least five years.

5. 5

   Will it help you get set up: register your Peppol ID and run a test?

6. 6

   What does the contract say?

   How do you leave, how do you export your data, what language is support in?

Tip: The simplest route for a small business: use invoicing software that's already connected to an ASP. You create the invoice as usual; the software handles the format and the sending.

Fatura Go is preparing for the UAE 2027 e-invoicing rollout, integrating with accredited providers. Join the waitlist below and we'll tell you when you can send e-invoices from Fatura Go.

On price: every ASP must give each customer 100 free e-invoice exchanges a year from the date you sign (Ministerial Decision No. 168 of 2026, Art. 9(4)). Ask how sent and received documents count against it.

More detail: questions to ask an ASP

5 steps to take now

Five things a small business can do this month. The full 9-step checklist below follows the MoF guidelines step by step.

1. 1

   Stop making invoices in Word or Excel — they can't become e-invoices.

   (Fatura Go is free to start.)

2. 2

   Check your client details: TRN, legal name and address.

3. 3

   Count how many invoices you issue each month.

4. 4

   Find out whether your clients are already on Peppol.

   Large companies are joining now. Check with the TRN checker

5. 5

   Choose your ASP before 31 March 2027 and test sending early, not in the last week of June.

Not sure of your phase? Use the readiness checker. Under AED 50 million? Follow the dated checklist to 1 July 2027.

Full checklist: 9 steps from the MoF guidelines

The detailed version of the steps above. An e-invoice carries your details and your buyer's in fixed fields, and onboarding takes time. Work through these in order; they follow the MoF Guidelines v2.0 (Chapter 9 and Appendixes 2 and 3).

Setting up a new company? A business set up after its phase has started must onboard with an ASP before it issues its first invoice (MoF Guidelines v2.0, §8.4). See how to start a business in the UAE for the steps before that: licence, tax registrations and your first invoice.

1. 1

   Confirm your phase and dates

   Most small businesses are in the below-AED 50 million phase: appoint an ASP by 31 March 2027, go live on 1 July 2027. Not sure? Use the readiness checker.

2. 2

   Check your company details in EmaraTax

   Trade licence, address and contact details must be up to date before you onboard with an ASP (MoF Guidelines v2.0, Appendix 3).

3. 3

   Collect your own e-invoice details

   Your TRN if you are VAT-registered (15 digits; check the format with the TRN checker), your trade licence or other legal ID and who issued it, and a structured address: address line, city and emirate as separate fields.

4. 4

   Clean up your business and government buyers' details

   For each B2B or B2G client: a valid TRN where they have one, plus address line, city, emirate and country. The TRN checker also shows whether a buyer is already on the Peppol network.

5. 5

   Count your invoices

   How many invoices and credit notes do you send to businesses and government in a year, and how many do you receive? ASP pricing depends on it.

6. 6

   Shortlist ASPs and sign with one

   Use the questions above. Leave time before 31 March 2027: you must finish the contract before you can onboard.

7. 7

   Onboard through EmaraTax

   Open the E-Invoicing tile, pick your ASP and continue to its portal. Your ASP gets you a Peppol participant identifier.

8. 8

   Test before go-live

   Agree with your ASP how invoice data reaches them and how you get confirmations back, then test sending and receiving before 1 July 2027.

9. 9

   Keep your ASP up to date

   Tell your ASP when your registered details change. Late notice is a penalty of AED 250 a day (see penalties).

Watch the video

Accredited service provider (ASP) directory

An ASP is a company accredited by the MoF to send and receive e-invoices for you and pass the required tax data to the FTA. You appoint one through EmaraTax and use a single ASP for all of your e-invoicing. The MoF register lists 88 accredited providers (register updated 13 November 2026, last checked 13 November 2026). It changes, so check it before you sign.

Background: what an ASP is · full ASP list with notes

Frequently asked questions