ZATCA Fatoorah
What is ZATCA Fatoorah? Saudi Arabia's e-invoicing system, run by the tax authority ZATCA. Invoices are digitally signed XML files (in the UBL format), each linked to the one before it, and are cleared or reported to ZATCA.
In plain words
ZATCA is Saudi Arabia's tax authority, and Fatoorah means "invoice". The system makes invoices electronic: each is a signed XML file, and each is sent to ZATCA. Standard invoices to businesses are cleared by ZATCA before they go to the buyer. Simplified invoices to consumers are reported to ZATCA shortly after. The invoice is signed with a certificate that ZATCA issues to your business after it registers.
Example
A Riyadh supplier invoices a business customer SAR 5,000 plus 15% VAT of SAR 750, a total of SAR 5,750. The software builds the XML invoice, signs it with the business's certificate and sends it to ZATCA. ZATCA returns the cleared invoice with its QR code, and only then does the buyer receive it. The numbers are made up. Confirm the rules and your business's start date with your adviser.
Why it matters
- Validity. An invoice that has not been cleared or reported as required may not count as a valid tax invoice.
- Set-up. The certificate comes from ZATCA after onboarding, so it takes lead time.
- Rework. An invoice rejected after you have sent it to a customer is hard to take back.
How Kinnow handles it
Saudi Arabia arrives from December 2026, VAT first, in Sell and Comply, with a VAT number on every invoice. ZATCA e-invoicing is planned after launch. Until then Kinnow says plainly that it does not produce Fatoorah invoices, rather than producing one that ZATCA would reject after it had reached your customer. See Saudi Arabia.
The limit: Saudi payroll is not in the first release either. For the India equivalent, see IRN e-invoice.
Planning Saudi Arabia? Ask us what is in the first release and what comes after.
Ask for a regional walkthrough of Sell and Comply for Saudi Arabia.
Questions
Is ZATCA e-invoicing mandatory?
Saudi Arabia brought it in step by step, by groups of businesses. Ask your adviser whether and when your business falls in.
Can Kinnow issue Fatoorah invoices today?
No. ZATCA e-invoicing is planned after launch, with no date yet. Saudi Arabia itself arrives from December 2026, VAT first.
What is the difference between clearance and reporting?
Clearance means ZATCA approves a standard invoice before it goes to the buyer. Reporting means a simplified invoice is sent to ZATCA shortly after it is issued.