E-invoicing in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s e-invoicing mandate covers business-to-government (B2G), business-to-business (B2B), and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. E-invoicing is administered by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).

All VAT‑registered businesses, including resident taxable persons and third parties issuing invoices on their behalf, must issue complaint e-invoices via ZATCA’s FATOORA portal.

Non-resident businesses are exempt, though buyers may need to self-bill for compliance.

Businesses must use a ZATCA-compliant e-invoicing solution to create an e-invoice in XML or PDF/A-3 with embedded XML. The e-invoice must include:

• Seller details including VAT number
• Buyer details including VAT number
• Timestamp
• Unique sequential invoice number
• Tax amounts by rates and totals
• QR code

Arabic must be included in the human-readable format.

Under Saudi Arabia’s clearance model, the issuer’s e-invoicing system sends the e-invoice XML via API to ZATCA’s FATOORA platform. ZATCA validates the e-invoice content and structure, then, if approved, cryptographically stamps the e-invoice and returns it to the issuer. The issuer then delivers the cleared e-invoice to the recipient.

For B2C transactions, the seller gives the e-invoice (with QR code) to the customer at the time of sale, then sends the e-invoice to ZATCA’s FATOORA portal within 24 hours for validation and storage.

All e‑invoices must be stored electronically and accessible to ZATCA.

Failure to issue compliant e‑invoices in Saudi Arabia can lead to fines starting at SAR 5,000. Penalties for missing QR codes or other data on e-invoices may start with a warning but can escalate to fines for repeat violations.