In short: UAE e-invoicing starts with the largest businesses. If your revenue is AED 50 million or more, you must appoint an Accredited Service Provider (ASP) by 30 October 2026 and go live by 1 January 2027. Businesses below AED 50 million follow in 2027.
E-invoicing is coming to every UAE business that sells to other businesses or to government, but not all at once. The rollout is phased by size, and each phase has two dates that matter: the date to appoint an Accredited Service Provider (ASP) and the date to go live. This guide shows which phase you are in and what to do before each date.
What is changing
Under Ministerial Decisions No. 243 and No. 244 of 2025, invoices between businesses (B2B), and between businesses and government (B2G), will be issued and received as structured electronic data through ASPs instead of as PDFs or paper. Both the business issuing the invoice and the business receiving it must appoint an ASP. Sales to consumers (B2C) are excluded.
The three phases
Phase 1: revenue of AED 50 million or more
- Appoint an ASP by: 30 October 2026 (moved from 31 July 2026 by Ministerial Resolution No. 66 of 2026)
- Go live by: 1 January 2027
Phase 2: revenue below AED 50 million
- Appoint an ASP by: 31 March 2027
- Go live by: 1 July 2027
Phase 3: government entities
- Appoint an ASP by: 31 March 2027
- Go live by: 1 October 2027
Any business can also join voluntarily from 1 July 2026.
What to do now, by phase
If you are in Phase 1
Your ASP deadline is days away. Choose and appoint your ASP now, then use the remaining weeks before 1 January 2027 to get your invoice data and accounting system ready and to train your team.
If you are in Phase 2
You have more time, but not as much as it looks. Use the months before 31 March 2027 to clean up your customer and supplier data, check your VAT treatment and decide on your ASP, so go-live on 1 July 2027 is routine rather than a scramble.
A readiness checklist
- Confirm your phase and write down your ASP and go-live dates.
- Check customer and supplier data, including TRNs, names and addresses.
- Review your VAT treatment, because errors become visible as soon as invoice data is exchanged electronically.
- Choose an ASP from the Ministry of Finance list. If you already use accounting software, check whether its provider is accredited.
- Prepare your accounting system, including the invoice fields and integration settings.
- Train your team on the new invoicing process before go-live.
Frequently asked questions
When does e-invoicing start in the UAE?
In phases. Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more must go live by 1 January 2027, businesses below AED 50 million by 1 July 2027, and government entities by 1 October 2027. Any business can join voluntarily from 1 July 2026.
When must I appoint an Accredited Service Provider?
By 30 October 2026 if your revenue is AED 50 million or more. By 31 March 2027 if your revenue is below AED 50 million, and the same date applies to government entities.
Does e-invoicing apply to sales to consumers?
No. The system covers business to business (B2B) and business to government (B2G) transactions. Business to consumer (B2C) transactions are excluded, along with certain other specific transactions.
What is an Accredited Service Provider?
A provider on the Ministry of Finance’s list of accredited e-invoicing service providers. Both the business issuing an invoice and the business receiving it must appoint one, and it exchanges the invoice data on their behalf.
What should I do first?
Confirm which phase you fall into and your two dates: the ASP appointment deadline and the go-live date. Then check the data behind your invoices and choose your ASP well before the deadline.
Get ready with Alif
Alif is an accounting and tax firm and an authorised Zoho partner, with a tax team led by an FTA-registered Tax Agent. We help businesses confirm their phase, clean up their invoice data and VAT treatment, and set up Zoho Books for e-invoicing. See how we help on our UAE e-invoicing readiness page, or book a free readiness call.