UAE Officially Unveils CTC E-Invoicing Framework

During the 2024 Dubai E-Invoicing Exchange Summit, the UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) publicly unveiled key details of the country’s long-anticipated CTC e-invoicing framework, marking a major milestone in the UAE’s digital tax transformation.

The UAE has confirmed it will adopt a Decentralised CTC Exchange (DCTCE), also known as the 5-corner model, based on Peppol specifications. With this decision, the UAE joins other countries using advanced CTC models, including Singapore and Belgium.

The MoF plans to establish a national Peppol Authority and use Peppol PINT as the standard invoice format. This approach aligns the UAE with other non-EU Peppol markets such as Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

Scope of the Mandate

• Initial scope: B2B and B2G transactions
• Future scope: B2C transactions to be evaluated at a later stage

The MoF also confirmed that it does not plan to build a government e-invoicing portal for SMEs. Instead, invoice exchange and compliance will be handled entirely through Accredited Service Providers (ASPs). However, the Ministry is considering limited free-of-charge offerings as part of ASP accreditation requirements.

Expected Timeline and Next Steps

The MoF shared the following indicative roadmap:

• Q3 2024:
  • Definition of ASP certification requirements and procedures
  • Development of the UAE e-invoicing data dictionary
• Q2 2025:
  • Release of e-invoicing legislation
• Pre-mandate phase:
  • Businesses may contract service providers and exchange e-invoices under a 4-corner model before reporting becomes mandatory
• December 2025:
  • Publication of the rollout strategy
  • Release of timelines based on taxpayer size
• July 2026:
  • Phase 1 go-live for mandatory reporting

The UAE plans a phased rollout based on company size, while allowing businesses to voluntarily opt in earlier than the mandatory timelines.