ZATCA e-invoicing
What Fatoora asks of a courier company
Saudi e-invoicing runs under the name Fatoora. Phase 1 has applied since 4 December 2021, and phase 2 arrives in waves set by revenue. Every statement below carries the body that publishes it and the date we last checked it.
This page is general information for delivery operators, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm anything that affects your licence or your tax position with the regulator or with your own adviser.
What ZATCA has published
The four statements a delivery operator in Saudi Arabia plans around. Each one links the body that publishes it and shows the date we last checked.
Saudi e-invoicing is called Fatoora and is run by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority.
Source: ZATCA, last verified
Phase 1, generation, has applied since 4 December 2021.
Source: ZATCA, last verified
Phase 2, integration with the Fatoora platform, commenced on 1 January 2023 and reaches businesses in waves, with ZATCA notifying each wave in advance.
Source: ZATCA, last verified
VAT in Saudi Arabia is 15 percent.
Source: ZATCA, last verified
What this means for a delivery operator
In operations language rather than tax language. Four things to ask your invoicing software about.
The required fields on every invoice, line by line
The fields ZATCA requires have to be present on every invoice you issue, at the level of each line. A courier invoice usually runs to many lines, one per shipment or per charge, so this is a question about how your billing builds the invoice and not only about what sits in the header.
A QR code on simplified invoices
Simplified invoices carry a QR code. If your business issues them, the question is what gets printed or shown at the moment of handover, which is a driver app question as much as an accounting one.
Gapless numbering per legal entity
Invoice numbering has to run unbroken for each legal entity on its own. If you invoice out of more than one entity, each one keeps its own continuous sequence rather than sharing a single counter across the group.
The ability to integrate when your wave arrives
Phase 2 is integration with the Fatoora platform, and ZATCA notifies each wave in advance. So the question for whoever supplies your invoicing is plain. Can it integrate by the date you are given, and who does the work when the notice comes.
The other two guides
Questions operators ask
- What is Fatoora?
- Fatoora is the name of e-invoicing in Saudi Arabia, and it is run by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority. Phase 1 covers generation and phase 2 covers integration with the Fatoora platform.
- When did phase 1 start?
- Phase 1, generation, has applied since 4 December 2021. It is not a future date for anyone invoicing in Saudi Arabia today.
- When does phase 2 apply to my company?
- Phase 2 rolls out in waves determined by VAT-able revenue, and ZATCA notifies each wave in advance. The date that applies to you is the one ZATCA gives you, so the notice is what you plan against.
- What does a delivery operator need from its invoicing software?
- The required fields on every invoice per line, QR codes on simplified invoices, gapless numbering for each legal entity, and the ability to integrate with the Fatoora platform when its wave arrives.
- Is this page legal advice?
- No. It is general information for delivery operators, checked against ZATCA and dated on the page. Anything that affects your invoicing or your tax position should be confirmed with the regulator or your own adviser.
Have the invoice ready before the wave is called
QuickE puts every charge on a merchant statement as its own line with the shipment it came from, which is the record an invoice gets built out of. Walk your current invoicing through these requirements with someone, or run a week of deliveries through it first.