Aqid ERPPhase 1: generation (since 4 December 2021)
Invoices and credit and debit notes must be generated and kept electronically, by a compliant system. Handwritten invoices, and invoices typed into a word processor or spreadsheet, are no longer accepted.
- A simplified tax invoice (business to consumer) carries a QR code with the seller's name, VAT number, the time of the invoice, the total with VAT and the VAT.
- The system must not let an issued invoice be changed or deleted; a correction is a credit or debit note.
- Every tax invoice carries the fields the VAT rules list, in Arabic (other languages may be added).
Phase 2: integration (in waves since 1 January 2023)
In Phase 2 the business's system connects to ZATCA's platform. Each invoice is an XML document (UBL 2.1) with a cryptographic stamp, a unique identifier and the hash of the invoice before it, so the chain cannot be altered unnoticed.
- Standard tax invoices (business to business) are cleared: sent to ZATCA and approved before the buyer receives them.
- Simplified tax invoices (business to consumer) are reported: given to the customer at once and sent to ZATCA within 24 hours.
- Each device or system that issues invoices is onboarded once, with a one-time password from the Fatoora portal, to receive its cryptographic stamp identifier.
When your business enters Phase 2
ZATCA calls businesses in waves, by the VAT-taxable revenue of a reference year, and notifies each one at least six months before its date. Until that letter arrives, Phase 1 is what applies. Getting ready early does no harm: the same system can run Phase 1 today and switch to Phase 2 on the day.
How Aqid ERP handles it
A Saudi company in Aqid ERP issues Phase 1 invoices from day one, with the QR code, in Arabic and English. When ZATCA's letter comes, Upgrade to Phase 2 on the Compliance page onboards the company with the portal's one-time password; from then on every invoice is signed, chained, and cleared or reported, and the result is kept with the invoice.