What is E-Invoice?
An e-invoice is an electronically delivered invoice in a specified standardized format. E-invoices contain invoice data in a structured form. It helps in replacing the manual tasks with automated business rules and actions to increase efficiency, minimize error handling, and help businesses comply with e-invoicing legislation.
Broadly speaking an e-Invoice can be of two types:
Standard Electronic invoice or a tax invoice: This type of invoice has two prerequisites:
- It needs to be issued by the seller to the buyer.
- All required tax invoice components, including the buyer and seller VAT registration number, must be present on it.
Simplified Electronic Invoice or Simplified Tax Invoice: Herein the e-Invoice is issued by the seller to an individual. It also needs to have all simplified tax invoice elements incorporated.
About Saudi Arabia E-Invoicing
The Zakat, Tax and Customers Authority (ZATCA), announced that e-invoicing will become mandatory in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, effective 4 December 2021(Phase 1) and 1 December 2023(Phase 2). It means that in future the suppliers will no longer be allowed to generate or store their invoices in paper format or PDF invoices. For the E-Invoicing, your businesses should be ready for a range of possibilities, including the possibility where approval may be required for individual invoices and transactions.
What you need to know?
The e-invoicing is applicable to a taxable person who is resident in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Also, to the customers or any third parties who issue a tax invoice on behalf of a taxable person who is a resident in the Kingdom according to the VAT Implementing Regulation.
- Issuing and keeping electronic invoices, debit and credit notes.
- It will come into effect in two stages: generation from 4th December 2021, and integration from January 2023.
- E-invoices must be issued in Arabic (additional languages are permitted, in addition to the required Arabic).
- Currently, ZATCA has indicated that a two-phased implementation approach for electronic invoices will be followed.
Implementation Phase
The implementation of the electronic billing process will be done in two phases.
1st implementation phase or “Electronic Invoices Issuance and Saving Stage”: In the first phase, all people maintaining tax books set in Saudi Arabia must:
- Ensure their capability to issue and save electronic tax invoices
- Electronically raise debit and credit notes
The rules and regulations applicable in this phase must be followed by:
- All people who fall under the purview of the provisions mentioned in the applicable electronic billing regulations
- Any other parties who are tasked with raising VAT invoices for registered suppliers
Integration Phase
2nd implementation phase or “Stage of Connecting Electronic Billing Systems”: The second phase applies to only those people who come under the purview of electronic billing regulations. These target groups will be intimated at least six months before the start of the process of linking the supplier’s system with the Authority’s system.
This linking is not done randomly. Rather a series of stipulated procedural and technical provisions must be followed regarding the controls, technical specifications, procedural rules and other requirements. The linkage of the supplier system with that of ZAKAT, Saudi Arabia customs authority, is done to enable sharing of data and information.
Requirements of E-invoicing solutions:
- Must be accessible online
- Must allow access by external systems through APIs
- Must apply control mechanisms that guarantee the authenticity and integrity of the information
- Must comply with security and cybersecurity requirements in the country
- The use of invoices in PDF format, whether scanned or in any other format besides the structured file, will not be allowed once e-invoicing becomes mandatory
Why Choose Us?
Here are the features that make us the best e-invoicing solution provider in KSA.
Seamless ERP Integration
The ZATCA e-Invoicing solution provided by us gets seamlessly integrated with any ERP used by an organization
Auto Data Validation
With our e-invoicing solution, you can auto validate your e-invoice data to check whether it is according to ZATCA norms or not.
Bulk Generation of E-Invoices
We provide bulk e-invoice generation for both standard & simplified invoices with the generation of UUID, PIH, for B2B and UUID, PIH, QR Code, CSID, Timestamp & Date Stamp, B2C.
QR Code Generation
Your e-invoicing QR code gets automatically generated with our ZATCA e-invoicing Solution
E-archiving (Integration with Document management system [FTP/API Based] /Local Storage)
We host the e-invoice data on client’s server or cloud server, and we limit archiving of that data to Saudi premises.
Invoices in Arabic & English: E-Invoices are generated in both Arabic & English language.TO make it easily accessible.
Generate PDF with Embedded XML invoices: A3 PDFs with embedded XML e-invoices are automatically generated during the process of e-Invoice generation.
How Our E-Invoicing Solution Works?
