What is a tax invoice in UAE? Definition and the two formats

Article 65(1) of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 requires a registrant making a taxable supply to issue and deliver an original tax invoice. Article 67(1) sets the deadline at 14 days from the date of supply. The Executive Regulation then defines two formats. A full tax invoice under Article 59(1) shows both parties' details and a line-by-line breakdown. A simplified tax invoice under Article 59(2) is shorter and is allowed where the customer is not registered, or is registered and the supply does not exceed AED 10,000.

An ordinary commercial invoice from an unregistered business is not a tax invoice and should not show VAT.

For your customers, Article 55(1) of the Decree-Law makes holding a tax invoice a condition of recovering input VAT. For you, the amended penalty table sets AED 2,500 for each detected case of failing to issue one. An Abu Dhabi contractor that sends 30 invoices a month in the wrong format can build a large exposure quickly, and its customers will chase corrected copies before paying.

HelloBooks drafts tax invoices with every field the regulation asks for: the heading, your TRN and address, the customer's TRN, a sequential number, dates, descriptions, quantities, unit prices, the VAT rate and amounts in AED. It chooses the full or simplified layout depending on the customer and the total. The AI agent drafts an invoice from a plain instruction such as 'bill Gulf Interiors for the May maintenance visit', and you approve it before it goes out.

From 2027, B2B invoices also move to structured e-invoices through an accredited service provider. HelloBooks keeps the invoice data you will need for that provider.

Closely linked ideas.

• Simplified tax invoice
• Tax credit note
• Electronic invoice
• TRN
• Input tax