Electronic Invoicing Pilot to Begin in the UAE in July 2026

Electronic invoicing for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) transactions will begin in the United Arab Emirates with a pilot on July 1st, 2026, followed by a phased rollout through 2027. The Ministry of Finance issued two ministerial decisions outlining the scope, obligations, and timelines for the programme.

The system requires electronic invoices for all business transactions and electronic credit notes in cases such as cancellations, refunds, price adjustments, or numerical errors. Both invoices and credit notes must be processed through accredited service providers and include specific data fields. The Ministry of Finance will publish a list of approved providers at a later stage.

Built on the international OpenPeppol standard, the framework is designed to ensure interoperability, reduce administrative costs, enhance compliance, and secure accurate data exchange between businesses and government entities.

Implementation will begin with a pilot involving selected taxpayers on July 1st, 2026. Businesses with annual revenue of AED 50 million (USD 13.6 million) or more must appoint an accredited service provider by July 31st, 2026 and adopt the system from January 1st, 2027. Businesses below the AED 50 million revenue threshold must appoint a provider by March 31st, 2027 and implement the system from July 1st, 2027. In-scope government entities must appoint a provider by March 31st, 2027 and adopt the system from October 1st, 2027.

The Ministry said the phased approach is intended to give businesses and government bodies sufficient time to transition while ensuring compliance with the new requirements.