An e-invoice is not a PDF. It is a structured XML file, built to a specification called PINT AE, that your accredited service provider checks field by field before it is delivered. On 23 February 2026 the Ministry of Finance published the list of mandatory fields: 51 for an electronic tax invoice, and 49 for a commercial invoice issued by a business that is not registered for VAT. Some older FAQs still say 50.
What you already include
Article 59 of the VAT Executive Regulation already requires the supplier's name, address and TRN, the customer's TRN if they are registered, a sequential number, the issue date, a description of the supply, and for each line the unit price, quantity, tax rate and amount, with tax shown in dirhams. All of that carries over into the structured file.
What is new
- An electronic address for both parties: the scheme 0235 followed by a 10-digit Tax Identification Number, or TIN. The Ministry's guidance says your TIN is the first 10 digits of your corporate tax TRN, even if you are part of a tax group.
- A legal registration number and its type: TL for a trade licence, EID for an Emirates ID, PAS for a passport or CD for a Cabinet Decision. With a trade licence you must also name the authority that issued it, typed in full, because there is no code list.
- Emirate codes. For UAE addresses the emirate must be AUH, DXB, SHJ, UAQ, FUJ, AJM or RAK. Writing out Dubai fails validation.
- A TRN in the right shape: 15 digits, starting with 1 and ending with 03.
- A transaction type: eight yes-or-no flags for free zone, deemed supply, margin scheme, summary invoice, continuous supply, disclosed agent billing, e-commerce and exports.
- A unit of measure on every line, from the UN/ECE code lists, such as hours, days or a lump sum.
- A VAT category on every line: standard rated, zero rated, exempt, out of scope, reverse charge or margin scheme.
- Dirham amounts on every line, whatever the invoice currency. A foreign-currency invoice also needs the exchange rate and its total with VAT in dirhams.
- A payment means code. If payment is by bank transfer, the account number becomes mandatory.
What disappears
- Simplified tax invoices. E-invoices have no simplified version, and FTA dispensations from invoice requirements no longer apply to them.
- Any idea of a QR code or digital signature. Neither is required in the UAE. The provider gives each invoice a unique identifier instead.
When the buyer is not ready
If your client is not yet on e-invoicing, your provider sends the invoice to a placeholder address, 0235:9900000098, and you also send them a regular invoice such as a PDF. For export clients who are not on Peppol the placeholder is 0235:9900000099: the invoice reaches them outside the network, usually by email, and is still reported to the FTA.
Where agencies get caught
- Free text where codes belong. Emirates, units and VAT categories must all be codes, so a template full of typed labels will fail.
- Item types. The item type field is optional, but if your software marks a line as a service, it must also send a service accounting code.
- Client records. Every buyer needs a legal name, an address, a city, an emirate code and, if registered, a TRN that passes the format check. Clients saved with a vague country or no emirate are the most common gap.
- Foreign currency. A dollar invoice without its dirham total is incomplete, even if the dollar figures are perfect.
The fields only matter once your own phase goes live, which for most agencies is 1 July 2027. Cleaning client records takes longer than choosing a provider, so it is the right place to start. The VAT calculator on this site checks the VAT on any amount in the meantime.
