This page copies the dates the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Authority have printed, and it keeps the later amendment next to the earlier text. It does not guess which company is in scope. Chinese: 阿联酋电子发票时间表.
General information. Not tax advice. Last checked 2026-10-15. A ministerial decision issued after that date can move a row. Lexoford Services does not guarantee that a company is in scope, that a date will remain fixed, or that a penalty will or will not be charged.
What the Federal Tax Authority calls an e-invoice
The Authority’s e-invoicing page says an e-invoice is structured invoice data issued and exchanged electronically between a supplier and a buyer and reported to the Authority. It says unstructured formats such as PDF, Word, images, scanned copies and emails are not e-invoices. The Ministry’s news of 29 September 2025 says the system is based on the OpenPeppol standard.
Who the guidelines put in scope
The guidelines, in the file that identifies itself as Version 1.1 dated 1 June 2026, say electronic invoicing is mandatory for any Person conducting Business in the UAE, regardless of VAT registration, unless an exclusion in Article 4 of Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 applies. They say the participant identifier is the Tax Identification Number, the first 10 digits of the TRN. A person in scope who is not registered for any tax must register with the Authority to obtain that number. The same file’s chapter 7 lists exclusions the Ministry has set out, including sovereign activities of a government entity that are not in competition with the private sector, stated airline passenger services, a 24-month exclusion for stated airline goods transport counted from the date in Article 5 of Decision 244, and stated exempt or zero-rated financial services. The Minister may add other exclusions. This paragraph is a pointer to that chapter. It is not a ruling that a named supply is excluded.
Timeline
| Phase | Who, in the source’s words | Accredited Service Provider | Implementation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Persons the Ministry contacts, and who agree in writing to take part. | The pilot section does not print a separate appointment date. | The pilot commences on 1 July 2026. | Guidelines section 8.1. The file read on 2026-10-15 identifies itself as Version 1.1, dated 1 June 2026. |
| Voluntary | Any Person, regardless of revenue, who chooses to implement. | No separate appointment deadline is printed for the voluntary phase. | From 1 July 2026. The person must meet the technical requirements. The guidelines say e-invoicing administrative penalties apply only from the date that person must implement on a mandatory basis. | Guidelines section 8.2, and Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025. |
| Large business, as printed in Decision 244 | A Person whose Revenue is equal to or exceeds AED 50,000,000. | Appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 31 July 2026. | Implement by 1 January 2027. | Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, as published on tax.gov.ae. The 1 June 2026 guidelines table prints the same two dates. |
| Large business, later official statements | Ministry news of 10 May 2026: persons whose annual revenues exceed AED 50 million. Federal Tax Authority news of 29 September 2026: a person whose revenues equal or exceed AED 50 million. This page does not treat “exceed” and “equal to or exceed” as the same sentence. | The 10 May 2026 news extends the appointment deadline from 31 July 2026 to 30 October 2026. The 29 September 2026 notice says no later than 30 October 2026. | Both statements leave implementation at no later than 1 January 2027. | Ministry of Finance, 10 May 2026; Federal Tax Authority, 29 September 2026. Checked 2026-10-15. |
| Smaller business | Decision 244: a Person whose Revenue is less than AED 50,000,000. The 29 September 2026 notice: revenues less than AED 50 million. | Appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 31 March 2027. | Implement by 1 July 2027. | Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, and the Federal Tax Authority notice of 29 September 2026. |
| Government entity | A Government Entity, as Decision 244 and the guidelines table use that term. | Appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 31 March 2027. | Implement by 1 October 2027. | Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 and the guidelines table. The 29 September 2026 notice quoted on this page does not restate this government date. |
| Business-to-consumer | Business-to-consumer transactions, and a Person engaged exclusively in those transactions. | Not stated. The decision says these transactions are not subject until a later ministerial decision. | Not in force for this category on the dates above. | Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025. The guidelines matrix marks supplies to a consumer as outside the system, and marks supplies to a business or a government entity as inside it. |
| VAT-group transactions | Business transactions between members of the same VAT group. | The grace period does not replace the group member’s own phase. | A temporary grace period of 24 months from 1 January 2027. It changes timing only. It does not remove the transactions from scope. | Guidelines section 6.3.2.1. Checked 2026-10-15. |
What the authorities tell a business to do
- The guidelines say onboarding with an Accredited Service Provider is started by the person or government entity on EmaraTax, not by the provider, and that the person onboards with one provider.
- The Federal Tax Authority’s notice of 29 September 2026 says a business should select a provider, contract and integrate, then complete the procedures on EmaraTax. It says failure to meet the implementation requirements may result in administrative penalties. The penalty instrument is Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025. This page does not calculate an amount.
- Decision 243, clause 5, subject to clause 4, states a 14-day issue-and-transmit period from the Date of Business Transaction. Read both clauses before you treat 14 days as the whole rule.
What this page does not do
- It does not tell a company which revenue test applies to it. “Exceed” in the 10 May 2026 news and “equal to or exceed” in Decision 244 and the 29 September 2026 notice are both printed above.
- It does not promise a filing outcome, a waiver, or a penalty figure.
- It does not sell an e-invoicing package. 0–1 visa: Starter AED 3,999. 2–3 visas: Business AED 4,999. 5 visas: Premium AED 7,999. Each additional visa adds AED 1,000 service fee beyond the visas your tier includes. Those are company-setup service fees. Government and free-zone fees are extra, at cost. Accounting work is quoted separately. Lexoford Services is not an FTA partner.
Sources checked on 2026-10-15
- Ministry of Finance eInvoicing portal. https://mof.gov.ae/einvoicing/ returned 301 to that page on 2026-10-15. The Federal Tax Authority says this portal is the official source for the programme.
- Ministry news, 29 September 2025. Pilot from 1 July 2026. OpenPeppol. The large-business dates in this 2025 news are the dates later amended for the provider appointment.
- Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 (PDF). Clause 5, subject to clause 4 of the same article, states that the electronic invoice or electronic credit note must be issued and transmitted through the system within 14 days from the Date of Business Transaction.
- Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 (PDF on tax.gov.ae).
- Electronic Invoicing Guidelines (PDF). Read on 2026-10-15, the file identifies itself as Version 1.1, dated 1 June 2026. Its phase table still prints 31 July 2026.
- Federal Tax Authority — UAE e-Invoicing.
- Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 (PDF). This page names the decision. It does not restate a penalty amount.
FAQ
When does UAE e-invoicing become mandatory?
There is no single date for every business. Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 phases it. The Federal Tax Authority’s notice of 29 September 2026 says a person whose revenues equal or exceed AED 50 million must appoint an Accredited Service Provider no later than 30 October 2026 and implement the system no later than 1 January 2027, and a person whose revenues are less than AED 50 million must appoint a provider no later than 31 March 2027 and implement no later than 1 July 2027. The same decision sets 1 October 2027 for a government entity. Business-to-consumer transactions stay out until a later ministerial decision. Confirm the current text on mof.gov.ae and tax.gov.ae. A later decision can move a date. This page does not guarantee that a date will stay fixed.
Why do some official pages still print 31 July 2026?
Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, and the guidelines file that identifies itself as Version 1.1 dated 1 June 2026, print 31 July 2026 as the Accredited Service Provider date for a person at or above AED 50,000,000. The Ministry’s news of 10 May 2026 says that date was extended to 30 October 2026 for persons whose annual revenues exceed AED 50 million, and that implementation by 1 January 2027 is unchanged. The Federal Tax Authority repeated 30 October 2026 and 1 January 2027 on 29 September 2026, using equal to or exceed. This page does not merge those wordings.
Is a PDF an e-invoice?
No. The Federal Tax Authority’s e-invoicing page says an e-invoice is structured invoice data exchanged electronically and reported to the Authority. It says PDF, Word, images, scanned copies and emails are not e-invoices.
Must a business that only sells to consumers join on these dates?
Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025 says business-to-consumer transactions are not subject to the system, and a person engaged exclusively in those transactions is not subject, until a date set by a later ministerial decision. A business that also has in-scope business-to-business or business-to-government transactions should not treat that exclusion as covering those other transactions.
Does Lexoford guarantee that a company will meet a date or avoid a penalty?
No. Lexoford Services is not the Federal Tax Authority and is not an FTA partner. The Ministry and the Authority set scope, dates and penalties. Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 is the penalty decision. This page does not calculate a penalty.
Are the AED 3,999, AED 4,999 and AED 7,999 service fees an e-invoicing package?
No. Those amounts are Lexoford company-setup service fees. 0–1 visa: Starter AED 3,999. 2–3 visas: Business AED 4,999. 5 visas: Premium AED 7,999. Each additional visa adds AED 1,000 service fee beyond the visas your tier includes. Government and free-zone fees are extra, at cost. This page does not publish an e-invoicing service fee.