UAE Publishes Legislative Amendments Supporting E-Invoicing Mandate

The UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) has released legislative amendments to support the country’s upcoming e-invoicing mandate, following the recent launch of the official e-invoicing landing page. These updates reinforce the UAE’s commitment to rolling out e-invoicing in line with the announced timelines.

The changes were introduced through:

• Federal Decree-Law No. 17 of 2024, amending key provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on tax procedures, and
• Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2024, amending selected provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 relating to Value Added Tax (VAT).

Key Legislative Updates

Updated Definitions
New and revised definitions have been introduced to formally recognize concepts and terms related to the Electronic Invoicing System.

Input VAT Recovery
Article 55 has been amended to require taxable persons to retain tax invoices that comply with the e-invoicing system as a condition for recovering input VAT. This applies to all invoices issued, or required to be issued, as electronic invoices.

Tax Invoices and Credit Notes
Articles 65 and 70 now explicitly state that taxable persons subject to the mandate must issue tax invoices, credit notes, and related documents in line with the e-invoicing system standards.

Penalties for Non-Compliance
Article 76 has been updated to introduce penalties for failing to issue tax invoices and credit notes within the prescribed timelines, strengthening enforcement of the mandate.

These legislative amendments provide the legal foundation for the UAE’s e-invoicing framework and signal continued progress toward mandatory electronic invoicing.