E-Invoicing Implementation/Compliance (FATOORAH) in Saudi Arabia with your existing ERP - Invoice Clearance Engine by ANTNA

Hari KrishnanHari Krishnan
5 min read

Table of contents

Overview: Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority announced in December 2020 that E-invoicing (FATOORAH) implementation will be mandatory effectively from December 4, 2021, for all taxpayers subject to VAT except for non-residents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who are subject to VAT in addition to any other parties that issue tax invoices on behalf of suppliers subject to tax.

On December 4, 2020, the authority published the E-invoicing regulations specifying the terms, requirements, and conditions related to electronic invoices and their associated notes. On May 28, 2021, the authority has issued further details related to the controls, requirements, technical specifications, and procedural rules for implementing the provisions of the E-invoicing Regulation.

Timelines:

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Phase 1 Requirements ( Generation Phase ):

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  • Use of a compliant E-invoicing system Taxpayers must equip themselves with an E-invoicing system complying with Phase One requirements. Taxpayers may approach their solution provider or internal technical teams to ensure their e-invoicing systems are compliant with ZATCA requirements. In addition, developers and subject matter experts may visit ZATCA’s website to view all the requirements (business, technical, security, etc.).

  • Generating and storing E-invoices Taxpayers must generate electronic invoices using compliant e-invoicing systems. Manual and hand-written invoices will no longer be considered compliant tax invoices.

  • To Ensure all elements of the tax invoice are fulfilled Generation of E-invoices must include all fields in accordance with VAT regulations in addition to: Standard Tax Invoice

  • The VAT number of the buyer if the buyer is a registered VAT taxpayer.
  • QR Codes can be added (Optional).
    Simplified Tax Invoice
  • A mandatory QR Code is generated by the taxpayer’s E-invoicing solution in accordance with ZATCA’s specifications.

E-Invoice Template/Structure

All the mandatory e-invoice fields defined by the GAZT need to be present in the invoices. It is the duty of the taxpayers/solution provider to ensure this is taken care of.

Phase 2 Requirements ( Implementation Phase ): 1632293344409.png

Starting this phase, the E-Invoicing solution must be integrated with GAZT’s Invoice clearance API which will be rolled out in several waves.

  • E-Invoicing Format The e-invoicing solution which generates saves and archives the e-invoices and notes must be in XML or PDF/A-3 format ( embedded XML ).

  • Technical Requirements

Every E-Invoice generated by the E-invoicing solution must contain the following elements defined by GAZT.

  • UUID: Unified Unique Identification Number, is a 128-bit number used to identify information in computer systems used for E-Invoice Generation. UUIDs generation scheme ensures to a high probability that the generated number is globally unique without the need to check a central database.

  • Cryptographic Stamp: The Cryptographic Stamp is a technical digital signature, and in the context of E-Invoicing Implementing Resolution it will be the technical digital signature of the hash of the document. A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of documents. In the context of the E-Invoicing Implementing Resolution, a valid digital signature, where the prerequisites are satisfied, is evidence for the recipient to believe that the invoice was created by the specified sender and that the content has not been altered. Cryptographic Stamps in the context of E-Invoicing Implementing Resolution are defined according to the ECDSA standard. Applying the Cryptographic Stamp is referred to as “stamping”.

  • Hash: A hash function is any function that can be used to map data of arbitrary size to fixed-size values called hashes that takes up minimal space. A hash procedure is deterministic—meaning that for a given input value it must always generate the same hash value. It is not possible to derive the original data from a hash; hence, hashing is meant to verify that a file or part of data hasn’t been altered.

  • QR Code (“Quick Response Code”): A type of matrix barcode, with a pattern of black and white squares that is machine readable by a QR code scanner or the camera of smart devices. For this Resolution, a QR code must include basic invoice information specified in this document.

  • Tamper Resistant Counter: A counter which cannot be reset and will prevent any fraudulent intervention.

Antna’s E-Invoice Clearance Engine (ICE)

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Our E-Invoicing solution integrates with any ERP system seamlessly, complying with all the Phase-I and Phase-II requirements.

Existing ERP users can implement our E-Invoicing solution within a few weeks and get compliant with the GAZT’s requirements with ease.

Our Integration process is streamlined to be very simple and clean, which requires minimal effort to go live in production. With our 24/7 free support for your first year, you got everything covered under one roof.

We offer our solution as a web app that gives complete control over all your invoices at one stop. It is a completely automated end-end process so that no manual intervention is required and is future-proof.

After the invoice is generated from the ERP system, the same invoice reflects in our web app, which provides you with multiple action buttons like clearance, and download which gets the e-invoice cleared by GAZT. It is now ready to be issued to your customers.

Why ANTNA?

We at ANTNA thrive to provide excellent customer satisfaction with our value-driven, highly scalable cloud products.

Our Software development process with Agile is very stringent, with no comprise in quality and on-time delivery, gaining customer satisfaction on priority.

Our products are aimed at simplicity and affordability for all sizes of companies, with flexible pricing and implementation options. Scale with us parallelly when you grow.

As an inaugural offer, we’re rolling out online/onsite support and upgrades to our E-Invoicing solution completely free for the first year 24/7 since implementation.

Contact Us

To get your E-Invoicing compliance journey started with us, please feel free to contact us at

Email: info@antna.co.in Phone/Whatsapp for Business: +91 8778237303

Website: Request Demo

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Written by

Hari Krishnan
Hari Krishnan

Co-Founder at Complyance.io (Antna Technologies Private Limited)