28-05-2025
UAE: Firms urged to start preparing for 2026 e-invoicing rollout
Companies should start analysing and preparing early ahead of the rollout of e-invoicing in the UAE next year, said Niraj Hutheesing, founder and managing director of
The UAE introduced e-invoicing regulation in the second quarter of 2025 while technical and functional specifications will be rolled out soon, he said. The first phase of e-invoicing will go live in the UAE in July 2026.
Speaking during the New Age Finance and Accounting Summit organised by Khaleej Times on Wednesday, Niraj said tax authorities create data warehouses as they move towards implementing the e-invoices to identify the type of risk they see, whether it is a behavioural or related to filing and transaction.
He noted that risk engines which are built behind the tax data warehouse identify fraudulent transactions and intervene where there is a necessity from the government side. 'These are the types of risk engines being developed or implemented by most of the tax authorities globally. That is what we need to be aware of when we implement our invoicing solution,' he said, adding that tax authorities are becoming 'technology companies' as they are using more artificial intelligence (AI) and analytic platforms.
'When the tax authorities build their data warehouse, everything is in a single system. They are able to interact between the two data points, analyse them and find the right anomalies. So this is critical for us to understand. These are the timelines most of you will be aware and a lot of people ask me whether it will happen in June 2026, I am pretty sure it's going to happen,' he said while giving a presentation on E-Invoicing & Digital Compliance at the 6th edition of the Summit.
He added that they can help companies generate all invoices digitally, and send them to customers and similarly, companies can also receive all the invoices digitally and automate their peer-to-peer processes as well.
He also highlighted the importance of verification of data and invoicing and stressed storing the data locally.
'Verification of invoicing is extremely important in terms of where your data is going to reside. There is no compulsion from UAE right now that the data has to be stored within the country. If you ask me, the way the global governance is going and the global governments are taking a stand, you need to ensure data is stored locally,' he added.
Earlier in the day, Andrew Hass, regional vice president, Anaplan and Harsh Punjabi, director of business transformation, Damac Properties, held a fireside chat on the topic of 'Power of decision making is critical.'
The New Age Finance and Accounting Summit was sponsored by Anaplan, Qashio, Cleartax, Al Tamimi, MCA, Andersen, Tally, Signzy and Jedox.
