Saudi Arabia e-invoicing: ZATCA waves and what to check first
Saudi Arabia’s ZATCA e-invoicing has two phases: generating compliant invoices (since December 2021) and integrating with the Fatoora platform in waves. Wave 24 was due 30 June 2026; Wave 25 must integrate by 1 February 2027. Below: the waves, the reported penalties, and what a free local checker covers.
Waves
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 4 Dec 2021 | Phase 1 (generation): compliant electronic invoices with a QR code; no integration yet. |
| 1 Jan 2023 | Phase 2 (integration) begins in waves; ZATCA notifies each wave's taxpayers about six months ahead. |
| 31 Mar 2026 | Wave 23 integration window closes (Decision 1603-99-1446). |
| 30 Jun 2026 | Wave 24: VAT-liable revenue above SAR 375,000 in 2022, 2023 or 2024. The fines-exemption initiative ran to the end of June 2026. |
| 1 Feb 2027 | Wave 25: taxable turnover above SAR 187,500 in any of 2022 to 2025 (announced 24 Jul 2026). |
Dates and thresholds are as reported by ZATCA's news page and adviser sites (EY, Grant Thornton, VATupdate); thresholds for earlier waves differ between sources and are left out. Penalties of SAR 5,000 to SAR 50,000 are reported by advisers, not taken from the regulation text. This is a summary, not tax advice; confirm with ZATCA, the Official Gazette or your accountant.
Which file counts, and how it travels
Invoices are structured XML on UBL 2.1 under ZATCA's specification, with a UUID, an invoice counter and hash chain, a cryptographic stamp and a QR code. Standard (B2B, B2G) invoices are sent to the Fatoora platform for clearance before they reach the buyer; simplified (B2C) invoices are reported within 24 hours. PDF/A-3 with embedded XML is accepted; a plain PDF is not. Your system or solution provider signs and submits; ZATCA's validation is the one that decides.
Test a file before you send it
Open the checker and drop your XML. It flags totals and tax breakdowns that do not add up, a missing tax reason on a 0% or exempt line, malformed identifiers, and IBAN and BIC typos, each with a rule ID and a fix (the rule reference). For a UBL file whose ProfileID is reporting:1.0 or clearance:1.0 it runs ZATCA's own published validation rules (BR-KSA-*, rules version 3.4.6) instead of the EU ones, so a missing QR code, a bad VAT number or a VAT amount that does not match its rate shows up with ZATCA's rule ID. It does not sign or stamp anything, make the QR code, check a signature's value or run clearance. No account, nothing uploaded.
No invoice yet? The e-invoice creator turns a form into UBL or CII XML and checks it. Other countries: India, the UK, the UAE, Germany, Malaysia, France, Belgium, Poland, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, or the EU e-invoicing mandate checker. Also: Slovakia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Hungary, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Serbia.
Common questions
When do I have to integrate with ZATCA e-invoicing (Fatoora)?
Saudi Arabia has had e-invoice generation (Phase 1) since 4 December 2021. Integration with the Fatoora platform (Phase 2) is rolled out in waves, and ZATCA notifies the taxpayers in each wave. As reported: Wave 24 (VAT-liable revenue above SAR 375,000 in 2022, 2023 or 2024) was due by 30 June 2026, and Wave 25 (taxable turnover above SAR 187,500 in any of 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025) must integrate by 1 February 2027. Confirm your wave with ZATCA or your accountant; this page is a summary, not advice.
What format does ZATCA e-invoicing use?
Structured XML based on UBL 2.1 under ZATCA's own specification, with a UUID, a cryptographic stamp, a QR code and a sequential invoice counter. B2B and B2G invoices are cleared in real time through the Fatoora API before they go to the buyer; simplified (B2C) invoices are reported within 24 hours. A PDF alone is not enough; PDF/A-3 with embedded XML is accepted.
What are the penalties?
Reported by advisers: fines from SAR 5,000 up to SAR 50,000 depending on the violation, with higher amounts for repeats within 12 months, applying to Wave 24 taxpayers from 1 July 2026 after a fines-exemption period. Sources differ and amounts can change, so check ZATCA and the Official Gazette.
Can this checker validate a Saudi invoice?
Partly. It reads UBL, CII, Factur-X and JSON and applies the EN 16931 arithmetic, tax breakdown, mandatory-field and identifier checks, plus IBAN and BIC typo catches, each with a rule ID and a fix. On a UBL file whose ProfileID is reporting:1.0 or clearance:1.0 it applies ZATCA's published validation rules (the BR-KSA set, version 3.4.6) in place of the EU ones; it does not sign or stamp, make the QR code, check a signature's value or run the clearance step, so a clean result is an offline observation, not approval. ZATCA's Fatoora validation remains the authority.
Open the E-invoice Preflight checker to validate your own invoice file.
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