Alongside the Cabinet’s penalty framework, the UAE Ministry of Finance issued Ministerial Decisions No. 243 and 244 of 2025, which fill in much of the technical and procedural detail businesses need before they can actually start preparing.
A pre-approved list of providers
Rather than being assigned a single provider, businesses choose from a Ministry-maintained list of Accredited Service Providers (ASPs) that is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. That gives room to compare providers on integration fit, pricing and support rather than being locked into one option.
Timing rules that affect your invoicing workflow
- Invoices and credit notes must be issued within 14 days of the underlying transaction.
- All e-invoicing data must be stored within the UAE.
- A technical failure that prevents compliance must be reported to the FTA within two business days.
Who sits outside the mandate
Government entities acting in a sovereign capacity, international passenger transport sold via electronic ticket, and certain zero-rated financial services are excluded from the e-invoicing requirement.
How this lines up with the rollout schedule
The phase dates published under this framework are: Large taxpayers (revenue ≥ AED 50 million) appoint an ASP by 30 October 2026 and go live 1 January 2027; SMEs (revenue < AED 50 million) appoint by 31 March 2027 and go live 1 July 2027; government entities appoint by 31 March 2027 and go live 1 October 2027.
This post summarises our reading of Ministerial Decisions No. 243 and 244 of 2025 as publicly reported. Requirements and dates can be refined by the Ministry of Finance and FTA, so confirm the current detail through official channels before finalising your own compliance plan. See the full breakdown on our FTA UAE Mandate guide.