VAT Invoice Contents

If you are a VAT Registered Supplier, you have an obligation to issue a Tax Invoice while making any taxable supplies. As per UAE VAT Law, this is even applicable if you are providing any free of cost goods or services, although in such case you need not deliver the invoice to your customer. There are two types of Tax Invoices:

  1. (Detailed) Tax Invoice
  2. Simplified Tax Invoice

While all VAT Registered suppliers should issue a (Detailed) Tax Invoice, however, there are few circumstances in which you can issue a rather Simplified Tax Invoice. A Tax Registered supplier can issue a simplified invoice under any of following conditions:

  1. Where the Recipient of Goods or Recipient of Services is not a Registrant, e.g. to individual end consumers.
  2. Where the Recipient of Goods or Recipient of Services is a Registrant and the Consideration for the supply does not exceed AED 10,000

Format of Tax Invoice

The all-important consideration of issuing a Tax Invoice is that it should contain all the fields required by UAE VAT Law & Executive Regulations. The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority has specified the format of a (Detailed) Tax Invoice as Under:

A Tax Invoice shall contain all of the following particulars:

  1. The words “Tax Invoice” clearly displayed on the invoice.
  2. The name, address, and Tax Registration Number of the Registrant making the supply.
  3. Where a Recipient of the supply is a Registrant, the name, address, and Tax Registration Number of the Recipient.
  4. A sequential Tax Invoice number or a unique number which enables identification of the Tax Invoice and the order of the Tax Invoice in any sequence of invoices.
  5. The date of issuing the Tax Invoice.
  6. The date of supply if different from the date the Tax Invoice was issued.
  7. A description of the Goods or Services supplied.
  8. For each Good or Service, the unit price, the quantity or volume supplied, the rate of Tax and the amount payable expressed in AED.
  9. The amount of any discount offered.
  10. The gross amount payable expressed in AED.
  11. The Tax amount payable expressed in AED together with the rate of exchange applied where the currency is converted from a currency other than the UAE dirham.
  12. Where the invoice relates to a supply under which the Recipient of Goods or Recipient of Services is required to account for Tax, a statement that the Recipient is required to account for Tax, and a reference to the relevant provision of the Decree-Law i.e. article 48 of UAE VAT Law.

Format of Simplified Tax Invoice

A simplified Tax Invoice shall contain all of the following particulars:

  1. The words “Tax Invoice” clearly displayed on the invoice.
  2. The name, address, and Tax Registration Number of the Registrant making the supply.
  3. The date of issuing the Tax Invoice.
  4. A description of the Goods or Services supplied.
  5. The Total Consideration and the Tax amount charged.

Issuance of Summary Tax Invoice

A Taxable Person shall not issue separate Tax Invoices in respect of supplies where he makes more than one supply of Goods or Services to the same Person and those supplies are included on a summary Tax Invoice issued to the Recipient of Goods or Recipient of Services in the same calendar month as the Date of Supply of those supplies. For example, a bank may issue a summary Tax Invoice to the customers for all Taxable Transactions at the end of the month.

Issuance of Electronic Tax Invoice

The Taxable Person may issue a Tax Invoice by electronic means provided that:

  1. The Taxable Person must be capable of securely storing a copy of the electronic Tax Invoice in compliance with the recordkeeping requirements.
  2. The authenticity of origin and integrity of the content of the electronic Tax Invoice should be guaranteed.

Invoice for Intra-GCC Trade Transactions

Where the Supply of Goods or Services is considered as supplied in an Implementing State, the Taxable Person must include the following additional particulars in the document issued:

  1. The tax registration number of the recipient of Goods or Services issued to him by the competent authority of the Implementing State in which the supply is treated as taking place.
  2. A statement identifying the supply as between the State and an Implementing State.
  3. Any other information specified by the Authority.

Need of a Reliable Accounting Software

There is a penalty of AED 5,000 on each invoice, in case you fail to issue the tax invoice. Hence you need to have a reliable accounting software which is VAT Compliant. Also as a business, you should ensure that your record keeping processes are in place and all your VAT records are kept safe for 5 years.

Further Help & Advice:

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