Glossary

The section of the German VAT Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz) that governs invoices, including mandatory invoice content and, since the Wachstumschancengesetz, the E-Rechnung definition and the B2B duty to issue one.

The Peppol connection point through which invoices are exchanged

The mandatory issuance of standard tax invoices between VAT-registered businesses as UBL 2.1 XML under ZATCA's clearance model.

The core of the Fawtara mandate: invoices between VAT-registered businesses issued as PINT OM XML, exchanged through each party's Accredited Service Provider over Peppol, with a Tax Data Document reported to the OTA in real time.

The treatment of sales to consumers, who are not on the Fawtara network.

The treatment of simplified tax invoices issued to consumers under Phase 2.

Invoicing government entities under ZATCA's rules.

Invoicing government entities under Fawtara.

The French government's platform for invoicing the public sector, mandatory for all suppliers to public entities since 2020 and still the B2G channel after the 2026 B2B e-invoicing reform.

An e-invoicing architecture where invoices must be submitted to (and approved by) the tax authority before they can be sent to the buyer. KSA Phase 2 and India's IRP follow this model.

ZATCA must validate and stamp B2B invoices before they are legally valid

An umbrella term for tax-authority systems that monitor invoices in (near) real time — including clearance, real-time reporting, and SAF-T-style periodic feeds.

The only instruments for adjusting an issued e-invoice.

ZATCA-issued digital stamp applied during clearance to authenticate B2B invoices

UAE's unique 5-corner e-invoicing architecture adding a central platform to Peppol's 4-corner model

OTA decision making e-invoicing binding and setting the commencement dates

A fenced free zone listed in Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017 (such as JAFZA or KIZAD) that is treated as outside the UAE for VAT on goods, subject to customs control and the zone’s conditions.

The Direction Générale des Finances Publiques, France's public finance directorate, which administers taxes and runs the e-invoicing reform, including registering Plateformes Agréées and receiving e-invoicing and e-reporting data.

Saudi Arabia's national e-invoicing programme — Arabic: فاتورة — meaning invoice

Oman's national e-invoicing programme, Peppol-based, phased from 2026

UAE's national e-invoicing programme — DCTCE model framework and mandate timeline

The legal term under §14 UStG for an invoice issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format conforming to EN 16931; a PDF without machine-readable XML does not qualify.

Connecting an ERP or billing system to an Accredited Service Provider's API so invoices leave as PINT OM XML and return with delivery and reporting status.

Connecting SAP, Oracle, Dynamics or any billing system to ZATCA's Fatoora APIs so invoices are generated, signed, submitted and archived without manual steps.

France's mandatory electronic invoicing regime for domestic B2B transactions between VAT-registered businesses, in force since 1 September 2026, under which invoices are exchanged in a structured format through a state-registered Plateforme Agréée.

The 1 September 2026 go-live milestone of France's e-invoicing reform, from which every VAT-registered business must be able to receive electronic invoices and large enterprises and ETIs must issue them.

Saudi Arabia's national e-invoicing platform, operated by ZATCA, through which all B2B and B2C electronic invoices must be issued or cleared.

ZATCA's official e-invoicing portal for onboarding simulation testing and compliance

KSA e-invoice format based on UBL 2.1 XML — mandatory structured format for ZATCA

The OTA's e-invoicing system, Arabic for invoice, what the mandate is called

OTA platform for ASP registration, accreditation and rollout information

OTA tool to confirm which rollout phase a taxpayer falls into via VATIN

The Forum elektronische Rechnung Deutschland, Germany's national e-invoicing forum, which develops the ZUGFeRD standard and coordinates with France on Factur-X but has no regulatory authority.

Supplier, supplier ASP, buyer ASP, buyer and OTA in one exchange flow

The architecture of France's e-invoicing reform, in which invoices flow between the supplier's and buyer's Plateformes Agréées while invoice data and statuses branch off to the PPF for the DGFiP.

UAE government body responsible for VAT administration and e-invoicing oversight

UAE's online tax management platform for VAT registration returns and compliance

Operating across Gulf mandates that share a VAT framework but not an e-invoicing model: ZATCA clearance with cryptographic stamping in Saudi Arabia, Peppol five-corner exchange through an ASP in the UAE, Peppol with a centralised SMP and Tax Data Document in Oman, with Bahrain,…

A 15-character alphanumeric identifier assigned to every GST-registered taxpayer in India, used on all tax invoices and GST returns.

A 64-character hash returned by India's Invoice Registration Portal that uniquely identifies a B2B invoice — without it, the invoice is not legally valid.

The Koordinierungsstelle für IT-Standards, Germany's coordination office for IT standards run by Bremen, which maintains the XRechnung specification, its validation rules and the German Peppol Authority function.

The routing identifier that every invoice to a German public body must carry, issued by the public buyer and entered in the buyer reference field so the invoice reaches the right administrative unit.

Running ZATCA compliance alongside other mandates a business is subject to, each with a different model: clearance and cryptographic stamping in KSA, Peppol five-corner exchange through an ASP in the UAE, PINT OM and the Tax Data Document in Oman, EN 16931 formats in France and…

The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia's national e-invoicing portal, through which taxpayers submit invoices for clearance before issuing them to buyers.

A software or service provider that helps businesses produce, convert or manage electronic invoices in France without DGFiP registration, and must therefore route invoices through a Plateforme Agréée.

The sanctions for failing to comply with Fawtara.

Pilot and phased waves by taxpayer size, through to government entities

The body running VAT administration and the Fawtara mandate

OTA taxpayer portal for VAT registration, filing and account access

The periodic declaration of output and input VAT a registered person submits to the OTA through the Tax Portal, quarterly for most taxpayers, with return and payment due within 30 days of the period end.

A private platform registered by the DGFiP to issue, transmit and receive electronic invoices and forward invoice data to the administration; the status was renamed Plateforme Agréée (PA) by the 2025 finance law.

The DGFiP registration process, now called agrément de plateforme, that a provider completes to become a Plateforme Agréée, covering legal and financial standing, security controls and interoperability testing.

The requirement that any two Plateformes Agréées in France can exchange invoices and lifecycle statuses, based on shared formats, DGFiP protocol specifications, the annuaire central and mandatory testing.

Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line — an open, four-corner network for exchanging electronic invoices across borders, now adopted as the basis of mandates in the EU, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and others.

OTA's role as Peppol Authority governing Oman's national rules

UAE's adoption of Peppol network infrastructure as basis for its e-invoicing framework

UAE-specific Peppol International (PINT) invoice specification built on EN 16931

Oman's Peppol International invoice specification for Fawtara invoices

Spec for buyer-issued invoices, relevant to imports and reverse charge

An e-invoicing architecture where invoices are exchanged directly between buyer and seller and reviewed by the tax authority only retrospectively, typically through audits or periodic reporting.

The Portail Public de Facturation, France's state-operated e-invoicing platform, which hosts the central directory (annuaire) and collects e-invoicing and e-reporting data for the DGFiP but no longer exchanges invoices.

A 2D barcode embedded in tax invoices encoding key invoice metadata (seller, VAT number, totals, timestamp). Mandatory in KSA Phase 1 and on simplified UAE invoices.

TLV-encoded QR code mandatory on all KSA e-invoices containing key invoice data

B2C invoices reported to ZATCA within 24 hours of issuance — no pre-clearance required

A VAT mechanism that shifts the obligation to account for tax from the supplier to the buyer — common in cross-border B2B services.

The mechanism under the VAT Implementing Regulations by which a Saudi-registered buyer, not the non-resident supplier, accounts for 15% VAT on imported services and specified cross-border supplies.

The mechanism in the Oman VAT Law under which a VAT-registered recipient, rather than a non-resident supplier, accounts for 5% VAT on imported services and goods not taxed at customs.

A mechanism under Article 48 of the VAT Decree-Law that shifts the obligation to account for VAT from the supplier to a VAT-registered recipient.

Oman's VAT Law, the primary legislation the e-invoicing obligation sits under

Reduced-field invoice for B2C transactions — requires QR code but fewer buyer details

A short-form tax invoice permitted for B2C transactions below a jurisdictional threshold — typically requiring fewer fields than a full B2B invoice but still subject to e-invoicing rules.

Reduced-field invoice permitted for transactions under AED 10000 in UAE

Service Metadata Publisher, how participants are discovered on the network

The German statutory term for any invoice that is not an E-Rechnung, such as paper, an ordinary PDF, an image or a structured file that does not meet EN 16931.

Full-field invoice for B2B and B2G transactions — subject to ZATCA clearance

Tax identification card issued to registered businesses in Oman

A unique 15-digit identifier issued by the UAE Federal Tax Authority to VAT-registered businesses; required on every tax invoice.

Unique 15-digit number assigned to VAT-registered businesses in the UAE

Process of validating a supplier's or buyer's TRN via the FTA portal

The VAT treatment of transactions crossing the UAE border.

The ability of any two UAE businesses to exchange invoices regardless of which Accredited Service Provider each uses.

Phased rollout making e-invoicing mandatory for UAE businesses — timeline and scope

Following an e-invoice through the five-corner flow after it leaves the ERP: validated by the sender’s ASP, delivered to the recipient’s ASP, and reported to the FTA.

Connecting a business’s ERP or billing system (SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, or in-house) to an Accredited Service Provider so invoices leave the ERP as PINT AE XML and return with delivery and reporting status.

Right to recover VAT paid on business purchases against VAT collected on sales

Operating UAE e-invoicing alongside other mandates a business is subject to, each with its own format, model and authority: PINT AE through an ASP in the UAE, PINT OM and the Tax Data Document in Oman, ZATCA clearance in Saudi Arabia, MyInvois in Malaysia, and EN 16931 formats…

FTA examination of a business's VAT records — triggers documentation requirements

Categories of supplies not subject to VAT in UAE — healthcare education financial services

A facility under Article 14 of the VAT Decree-Law allowing two or more related UAE-established entities under common control to register as a single taxable person with one TRN.

Financial penalties imposed by FTA for late VAT payment or non-compliance

Imported goods attract 5% VAT at the point of entry.

Quarterly or monthly submission of VAT declaration to FTA via EmaraTax portal

Supplies taxed at 0% in UAE — exports international transport certain food items

Universal Business Language — an open-standard XML library for business documents (invoices, orders, despatch advices) maintained by OASIS and used by Peppol.

Universal Business Language XML format as adopted in UAE e-invoicing framework

A consumption tax levied at each stage of the supply chain on the value added to goods or services, ultimately borne by the end consumer.

Document confirming a business's Oman VAT registration status

Official document issued by FTA confirming a business's VAT registration status

Value added tax at a standard rate of 5%, introduced under Royal Decree 121/2020 with effect from April 2021 and administered by the Oman Tax Authority.

15% VAT introduced in 2018 and raised from 5% in 2020 — overview of KSA VAT system

5% VAT introduced in January 2018 — overview of rates exemptions and scope

Validating a counterparty's Oman VAT number before invoicing

Goods entering Saudi Arabia attract 15% VAT collected by ZATCA Customs at the point of import alongside customs duty, recoverable as input tax by a registered importer on its next return.

Registering for VAT with the OTA, thresholds and process

Process by which a UAE business registers for VAT with the FTA — threshold AED 375,000

Oman VAT identification number, OM prefix, the identifier tied to scope

VAT in the Digital Age — the European Commission's reform package mandating structured e-invoicing and digital reporting for intra-EU B2B transactions, with phased application from 2030.

The Growth Opportunities Act of March 2024, the German federal law that introduced mandatory B2B e-invoicing into the VAT Act by redefining the E-Rechnung in §14 UStG.

Germany's national XML invoice standard, a Core Invoice Usage Specification (CIUS) of EN 16931 maintained by KoSIT in UBL and CII syntaxes, and one of the two formats that satisfy the B2B E-Rechnung definition.

Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority — the Saudi Arabian government body responsible for VAT collection and the country's mandatory e-invoicing programme (Fatoora).

Saudi Arabia's tax and customs authority responsible for e-invoicing regulation and enforcement

ZATCA-approved technology vendors certified to offer compliant e-invoicing solutions

Technical connection between taxpayer ERP/system and ZATCA's Fatoora platform via REST APIs

The sequence a taxpayer follows to reach Phase 2 compliance: confirm wave date, choose a compliant solution, cleanse master data (TINs, VAT numbers, addresses), obtain CSIDs via the Fatoora Portal, pass compliance checks in simulation, onboard to production, set up six-year…

Cryptographic Stamp Identifier — certificate issued by ZATCA to authenticate the taxpayer's system

ZATCA's defined XML schema that all e-invoices must conform to before submission

Required data elements on every KSA e-invoice including seller TIN buyer TRN QR code amounts

Process of registering a taxpayer's e-invoicing solution with ZATCA's platform

First phase requiring taxpayers to generate and store structured e-invoices — live Dec 2021

Second phase requiring real-time integration with ZATCA — clearance for B2B reporting for B2C

The process of detecting, diagnosing and correcting invoices that fail ZATCA's clearance or reporting checks.

ZATCA's testing sandbox allowing developers to test e-invoice integration before go-live

The Zentrale Rechnungseingangsplattform, the German federal government's central platform for receiving XRechnung-conformant invoices from suppliers to direct federal administration bodies; it handles B2G only.

A hybrid German invoice format that embeds EN 16931-conformant XML (CII syntax) in a PDF/A-3 document, readable by both people and machines; from the EN 16931 profile upward it qualifies as an E-Rechnung.