Saudi Arabia – Introduction of e-invoicing

E-invoicing regulations were introduced by the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) on December 4th 2020, after being approved by its Board of Directors. Taxpayers are granted a period of 12 months to implement the provisions of the new regulations, ending on December 4th, 2021.

The new regulation applies to taxable persons, residents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and any third party that issues an invoice on behalf of taxpayers. Non-residents are exempt from the obligation.

Those subject to the new e-invoicing law must be able to issue electronic invoices and electronic notes (debit and credit), defined as documents generated in a structured electronic format through electronic means. No paper, copied or scanned invoices will be treated as electronic invoices and, will no longer be accepted.

Although the technical specification has not yet been published, GAZT has introduced a number of basic requirements regarding the issue of electronic invoices.

The implementation process is divided into two phases. Phase one is focused on generating and storing e-invoices, while the second phase covers the integration of a taxpayers’ solution with the GAZT system. Both will be described in upcoming resolutions, which are expected to be introduced no later than June 2021.

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 Regulation.pdf (gazt.gov.sa)