Author
Juhi Dubey
FTA Announces Penalties for Non-Compliance with UAE E-Invoicing
The UAE is moving firmly toward the next stage of digital tax governance. With Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025, the Federal Tax Authority has outlined the upcoming requirements for e-Invoicing, along with specific penalties for non-compliance. This is not just a technical change; it marks a shift in how financial data is generated, reported, verified, and regulated across the country. The introduction of penalties signals a clear enforcement intention, not a passive transition.
1. Why E-Invoicing Is Becoming Mandatory
The UAE is aligning with international tax-digitalization frameworks that have already been implemented in countries including India, Italy, KSA, and Mexico. The goal is to reduce fraud, improve VAT visibility, streamline cross-system interoperability, and ensure that invoice data is authenticated and available in real time. This modernized invoicing ecosystem will support better transparency, faster compliance verification, and stronger audit reliability.
2. Penalties for Non-Compliance: What Businesses Are Liable For
Below is the official penalty schedule as per Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025:
Violation | Penalty Amount |
|---|---|
Failure to implement the Electronic Invoicing System (including failure to appoint an Accredited Service Provider) | AED 5,000 per month |
Failure to issue & transmit Electronic Invoices / Electronic Credit Notes on time | AED 100 per invoice (max AED 5,000/month) |
Failure to issue & transmit Electronic Credit Notes on time | AED 100 per credit note (max AED 5,000/month) |
Failure to notify the Authority of a system failure | AED 1,000 per day |
The recipient is failing to notify the Authority of a system failure | AED 1,000 per day |
Failure to notify the Accredited Service Provider of updated data | AED 1,000 per day |
These penalties are structured to ensure proactive compliance rather than reactive correction. Businesses delaying implementation may experience recurring fines beyond their control.
3. The Hidden Implementation Risk: Time
A lot of organizations take an approach of “we can do it later”. But when implementing e-Invoicing, this is not a “push button” activation. E-Invoicing needs harmonization of the current systems, integration with other ERPs, redesigning existing processes, standardizing data, training of staff, and finally API connectivity. An organisation that tries to implement e-Invoicing while under pressure from timelines will be experiencing not only technical disruptions, but also increasing penalties due to non-compliance.
4. Manual Compliance Will Not Scale
In today's world of finance teams, there are many that rely on 'human-dependent' invoicing with everything done manually, including validation, formatting, transmitting, and archiving. With today's ongoing/new requirements for compliance to be immediate and ongoing, every single invoice must follow the required schemas, structures, authenticity, and electronic transmission. Because of this requirement, human reviews will not be able to handle the volumes of invoices or the precise nature of invoice processing in a fully digital environment.
5. How COVORO Ensures Seamless & Automatic Compliance
The COVORO compliance system automates all compliance functions using an Agentic-AI-driven technological platform that provides the following capabilities:
Thus, compliance can now be completed as an independent entity rather than being treated as another aspect of business operations.
6. The Strategic Finance Advantage
Forward-thinking CFOs are already preparing for this shift. Rather than waiting for enforcement deadlines, they are using e-Invoicing as a catalyst to modernize their finance function. Early adopters will not only avoid penalties they will also gain greater visibility into invoice lifecycles, improved reporting quality, stronger cash flow alignment, and more resilient financial governance.
8. Final Note from COVORO
The mission of COVORO is quite simple: to offer 100% autonomy, no effort, no errors in complying with the e-Invoicing regulation, thus eliminating any penalties from being your concern. This is not a temporary regulatory requirement, but rather it is the infrastructure of how businesses will transact with each other using finance in the United Arab Emirates for the future, and we will assist companies in making that transition with confidence and as seamlessly as possible.
As a CFO or finance leader, or compliance stakeholder, you should reach out to us. COVORO helps companies prepare for compliance by helping them assess their readiness, onboard them onto COVORO, integrate their ERP systems, and automate the compliance process for all e-Invoices.
Acknowledgments
Every insight in this guide has been shaped with purpose — designed to be as engaging as it is informative.
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Juhi Dubey
About the Author
I am a semi-qualified CA with 4 years of experience in Accounts and finance. With a background in law and a passion for tax compliance, I have been deeply engaged in the Fin-Tech industry, composing insightful content. I am fond of writing and have contributed articles on accounting, personal finance, income tax, and GST.
