Saudi Arabia – Draft resolution of technical specification and procedural rules has been published by GAZT

The Saudi General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) has published a draft regulation of the controls, requirements, technical specifications and procedural rules for implementing the provisions of the e-Invoicing regulation, and begun public consultation, which is open until 17th April 2021. The purpose of the resolution is to define technical and business requirements for the upcoming e-invoicing obligation as of December 4th, 2021.

The e-invoicing process has been divided into two phases. Phase one, effective as of December, 4th 2021, focused on generating of electronic invoices and electronic notes, including provisions related to processing and record-keeping. The second phase, covering integration with GAZT systems by using API and additional technical functionalities, will start in June 2022.

The second phase of the proposed regulations requires electronic invoices to be generated in XML or PDF/A-3 (with embedded XML) format, while the first phase does not mention any required e-invoicing format as long as the mandatory data are present in the invoices and notes. Furthermore, the taxpayer’s solution must be able to generate  a universally unique identifier (UUID), cryptographic stamp, hash and QR codes, as well as set up an Internet connection and integrate with external systems by using an application programming interface (API).

Additionally, GAZT has introduced a set of associated specifications, including the Electronic Invoice XML Implementation Standard, the Electronic Invoice Data Dictionary, and the Electronic Invoice Security Implementation Standard.
 

There’s more you should know about e-invoicing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – learn more about the new and upcoming regulations.

E-Invoicing Implementation Resolution - English Version_vPublicConsultation.pdf (gazt.gov.sa)

The Controls, Requirements, Technical Specifications and Procedural Rules for Implementing the Provisions of the E-Invoicing Regulation are Open for Public Consultation (gazt.gov.sa)