ZATCA Phase 1 Invoice Generator for Saudi Arabia

What ZATCA's e-invoicing rules require

ZATCA, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, was formed by merging the General Authority of Zakat and Tax with the General Customs Authority. It collects zakat, taxes and customs duties, and it runs e-invoicing in Saudi Arabia, known as Fatoorah: invoices and their credit and debit notes are issued electronically, in a structured form, instead of on paper.

The rules apply to every VAT-registered taxpayer except non-resident taxpayers, and to anyone who issues tax invoices on behalf of a VAT-registered supplier. Some transactions fall outside them: supplies fully exempt from VAT, imports of goods into the Kingdom, and supplies taxed under the reverse-charge mechanism.

A handwritten invoice is not an e-invoice, and neither is one typed in a word processor or a spreadsheet, or a paper invoice that has been scanned. The invoice has to come from an electronic invoicing system that meets ZATCA's requirements.

The two phases: generation and integration

Phase 1, the generation phase, has applied since 4 December 2021. Invoices must be generated and stored electronically and carry the required fields, and a simplified tax invoice must carry a QR code. Nothing is sent to ZATCA in Phase 1: invoices are not cleared, approved or reported. ZATCA prescribes no file format for this phase, as long as the required data is on the invoice.

Phase 2, the integration phase, began on 1 January 2023 and is applied in waves, one group of taxpayers at a time. ZATCA tells each group at least 6 months before its date. In Phase 2 the invoicing system connects to ZATCA's platform, Fatoora, through an API, and each invoice is produced in XML (or as a PDF/A-3 file with the XML embedded) in the UBL 2.1 structure, with a unique identifier (UUID), a cryptographic stamp and the hash of the previous invoice.

A tax invoice must then be cleared by ZATCA, which checks it and adds its cryptographic stamp, before it is shared with the buyer. A simplified tax invoice is reported to ZATCA within 24 hours of being generated.

Whether you are in Phase 2 depends only on whether ZATCA has notified you. Check your status directly with ZATCA rather than against a figure published anywhere, including here.

Tax invoice or simplified tax invoice

ZATCA's rules distinguish two kinds of invoice, and the title on the document must say which one it is. A tax invoice is usually issued between businesses or to government bodies. A simplified tax invoice is usually issued to consumers.

Under the VAT Implementing Regulations, a simplified tax invoice may be issued for a supply worth less than SAR 1,000, and for any supply to an individual who is not subject to VAT, whatever its value. Other supplies need a full tax invoice.

What a tax invoice must show

ZATCA's guideline on tax invoicing lists what a full tax invoice must carry. The legal source is Article 53 of the VAT Implementing Regulations.

• The document title, saying whether it is a tax invoice or a simplified tax invoice.
• The date of issue, and the date of supply if it is different.
• A sequential number that identifies the invoice.
• The supplier's legal name, its address in Saudi Arabia and its VAT registration number.
• The customer's name, address and VAT registration number, or, for a customer not registered for VAT, another identifier such as a commercial registration or national ID number.
• For each line: a description of the goods or services, the unit price, the quantity, any discount, the amount excluding VAT, the VAT rate and amount, and the total including VAT.
• The taxable amount at each rate, the VAT amount in Saudi riyals, and the invoice total including VAT.
• A statement when the customer or a third party issues the invoice on the supplier's behalf, or when a special treatment applies, such as an export.

What a simplified tax invoice must show

Less is required: the date of issue; the supplier's name, address and VAT registration number; what was supplied; the price; and either the VAT amount in Saudi riyals or a clear statement that the price includes VAT at 15%. Since Phase 1 it must also carry its title and the QR code described below.

Arabic is required

The VAT Implementing Regulations require every invoice to be issued in Arabic, in addition to any other language used. ZATCA treats the Arabic as the approved and conclusive text and any other language as a translation; an invoice without the information in Arabic is not a valid tax invoice.

Within that rule ZATCA accepts Western or Arabic-Indic numerals, currency codes such as SAR, dates written in numerals in day/month/year order, and names in Latin letters where they are not normally translated.

Xuvilo prints each document in one language: Arabic when you are using Xuvilo in Arabic or have chosen an Arabic template, English otherwise. For a Saudi tax invoice, switch Xuvilo to Arabic or choose an Arabic template before you download: the labels, totals and layout then print in Arabic, right to left. An invoice downloaded from the English interface on an English template has no Arabic labels on it.

The Phase 1 QR code

In Phase 1 the QR code is mandatory on simplified tax invoices and their credit and debit notes, and optional on tax invoices. ZATCA does not issue it: the seller's own invoicing system generates it.

ZATCA's security standard sets the encoding: each field is written as a tag, its length and its value in UTF-8 (TLV), the fields are joined, and the result is Base64-encoded before it is drawn as a QR code. In Phase 2 the code carries more, including the invoice hash and the cryptographic stamp, and is required on every invoice type.

In Phase 1 it holds five fields, in this order:

1. The seller's name.
2. The seller's VAT registration number.
3. The date and time of the invoice.
4. The invoice total including VAT.
5. The VAT total.

Correcting an invoice

Once an invoice is issued it cannot be edited or cancelled. To correct it, issue an electronic credit or debit note that refers to the original. ZATCA's rules also bar an invoicing system from letting issued invoices be altered or deleted, from running more than one invoice sequence at a time, and from letting users in without access control.

Xuvilo is a document generator, not a controlled invoicing system: you can change any field of a document, including its number, before you download it. Whether your invoicing meets these rules is for you and your accountant to confirm.

Keeping records

Invoices, credit and debit notes and their data must be kept for at least 6 years from the end of the tax period they relate to. Records about capital assets must be kept longer, and records about real estate for at least 15 years. Records must be kept in Arabic, and if they are stored outside Saudi Arabia they must be accessible from the business's branch in the Kingdom.

Keep a copy of every invoice you issue. Xuvilo lets you download each one as a PDF.

Penalties

ZATCA's guideline on tax invoicing (May 2026) says that field violations begin with a notice and a period of 30 to 60 days to put them right. When ZATCA announced the Phase 1 fines on 16 November 2021, it said that not issuing and storing invoices electronically starts with a fine of SAR 5,000, and deleting or amending an e-invoice after it is issued starts at SAR 10,000. Leaving the QR code off a simplified tax invoice, leaving the buyer's VAT number off a tax invoice, and not telling ZATCA about a fault that stops you issuing e-invoices start with a warning. Fines rise with the type of violation and with repetition.

ZATCA's list of VAT fines sets a maximum of SAR 50,000 for failing to keep tax invoices, books and records, and the same maximum for breaching any other provision of the VAT Law or its regulations. ZATCA sets out how it classifies each violation in its own guidance; check the current version before you rely on a figure.

How Xuvilo adds the Phase 1 QR code

Xuvilo adds the Phase 1 QR code and nothing more. It does not connect to Fatoora, so it cannot clear or report invoices and does not provide Phase 2.

• Open the Saudi invoice generator, or choose SAR as the currency: 15% VAT is set on every line, and you can change the rate on any line.
• Turn on the ZATCA QR code switch and enter your VAT registration number. Xuvilo checks its format, 15 digits starting with 3, before it draws the code.
• The code is built from your business name, your VAT number, the invoice date, the total with VAT and the VAT amount, encoded as ZATCA's standard describes, and printed on the invoice.
• Download an A4 PDF to send to your customer and keep in your records.

Sources

• ZATCA: What is e-invoicing
• ZATCA: E-invoicing roll-out phases
• ZATCA: How to prepare for Phase 1
• ZATCA: E-invoicing FAQ, Phase 1 requirements (PDF)
• ZATCA: Controls, requirements and technical specifications for the E-Invoicing Regulation, 19 May 2023 (PDF)
• ZATCA: Electronic Invoice XML Implementation Standard, 19 May 2023 (PDF)
• ZATCA: Security Features Implementation Standards, 19 May 2023 (PDF)
• ZATCA: Guideline for Tax Invoicing and Records under VAT Provisions, May 2026 (PDF)
• ZATCA: E-invoicing violations and fines, 16 November 2021
• ZATCA: VAT violation fines