Businesses covered by the United Arab Emirates’ e-invoicing system with annual revenue of AED 50 million or more face a monthly AED 5,000 penalty if they miss required deadlines.
Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 sets the charge at AED 5,000. It applies when a covered business misses its provider deadline or fails to implement the system on time, and it can accrue for a delay lasting less than a full month.
Under Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2026, the first group has until Oct. 30, 2026, to appoint an Accredited Service Provider and must have e-invoicing in place by Jan. 1, 2027. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) says covered businesses with annual revenue below AED 50 million have until March 31, 2027, to select a provider and July 1, 2027, to implement the system.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) moved the larger-revenue group’s provider deadline from July 31, 2026, to Oct. 30, 2026, after assessing market preparedness and hearing business requests for more technical options and competitive prices. It kept the Jan. 1, 2027, implementation date.
The FTA says businesses must complete procedures through EmaraTax and establish contractual and technical connections with their chosen provider. Provider selection, integration work and any delay penalties fall to businesses covered by the rules.
The MoF defines a qualifying e-invoice as structured invoice data sent electronically and reported to the FTA. PDFs, scans, images, Word documents and emails do not meet that standard.
The ministry says the system is intended to automate invoicing and support tax compliance, including efforts to address value-added tax (VAT) leakage. At a Sept. 27 awareness event, Undersecretary Younis Haji AlKhoori encouraged businesses to begin preparing early, including by choosing a provider.
The next milestone for businesses in the AED 50 million-and-above group is the Oct. 30, 2026, provider deadline, followed by the Jan. 1, 2027, implementation date.
