The timeline
Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, as amended by Ministerial Resolution No. 66 of 2026, sets the implementation timeline of the Electronic Invoicing System. A pilot programme started on 1 July 2026, and any person may start voluntarily from that date. For businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more, an Accredited Service Provider had to be appointed by 30 October 2026 and the system implemented by 1 January 2027. For businesses with revenue below AED 50 million, a provider must be appointed by 31 March 2027 and the system implemented by 1 July 2027. Government entities must appoint a provider by 31 March 2027 and implement by 1 October 2027. Revenue means the gross income in the most recent accounting period.
Who is in scope
Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 applies the system to any person conducting business in the UAE for every business transaction, apart from exclusions, and the Ministry describes the scope as business-to-business and business-to-government. Transactions with consumers (B2C), and persons dealing only in B2C, are not subject until the Minister decides otherwise. The exclusions include sovereign government activity, international air passenger tickets, certain airline ancillary services and air cargo, VAT-exempt or zero-rated financial services and, under Ministerial Decision No. 197 of 2026, transactions between members of the same tax group for a limited period from 1 January 2027. Invoices are issued and sent within 14 business days of the transaction under that decision.
Published penalties
Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 sets AED 5,000 for each month or part of a month of delay in implementing the system, including not appointing a provider on time, and AED 100 for each late e-invoice or e-credit note, capped at AED 5,000 per calendar month. Voluntary users are exempt. Check the current decision before relying on these figures.
What this tool does not tell you
It does not choose a provider or confirm the technical format. The format and provider requirements are published by the Ministry in its guidelines, so follow those. The date of this check matters: one of the deadlines above has already passed, and the Ministry has not published how it treats businesses that missed it in the sources we checked.