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E-invoicing · Fatoora

ZATCA e-invoicing, explained properly

ZATCA rolls out e-invoicing in two phases, and Phase 2 arrives business by business in waves — each with its own revenue threshold and its own integration date. This page explains both phases and the wave system, and states plainly what Mezan takes care of and what remains yours.

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This page was last checked against ZATCA’s own publications on 26 July 2026

  • Phase 1 (Generation): in force since 4 December 2021
  • Phase 2 (Integration): from 1 January 2023, in waves
  • ZATCA notifies each wave at least six months before its integration date
  • Two invoice types: standard tax invoice, and simplified tax invoice

The basics

What an e-invoice is, and who it applies to

An electronic invoice is issued and stored in a structured electronic format through an electronic system, carrying the fields a tax invoice requires. A handwritten invoice, or a paper one that has been scanned, is not an electronic invoice.

Who is in scope

Everyone subject to the E-Invoicing Regulation — VAT-registered taxpayers resident in the Kingdom — plus any party issuing tax invoices on behalf of a taxable supplier. Non-resident taxpayers are outside the mandate.

Standard tax invoice

Usually issued business to business (B2B), carrying every tax-invoice field. Under Phase 2 it does not reach the buyer until the Fatoora platform has cleared it.

Simplified tax invoice

Usually issued business to individual (B2C) — the POS receipt is the everyday case. It goes to the customer immediately, then to ZATCA within 24 hours of being issued.

The two phases

Generation first, then Integration

Phase 2 does not replace Phase 1, it sits on top of it. Everything you comply with today still applies; stamping, the required format and the connection to Fatoora are added to it.

Phase 1 · Generation

In force for everyone since 4 December 2021

Phase 2 · Integration

From 1 January 2023, in waves

Who it covers

Phase 1 · Generation

Everyone subject to the E-Invoicing Regulation, all at once, from 4 December 2021.

Phase 2 · Integration

Waves defined by a revenue threshold. Each wave is notified at least six months before its integration date.

Invoice format

Phase 1 · Generation

No format is prescribed. Any structured electronic format from a compliant solution. A scanned or handwritten invoice does not count.

Phase 2 · Integration

XML, or PDF/A-3 with embedded XML. What is submitted to Fatoora is the XML, not the PDF/A-3.

Connection to ZATCA

Phase 1 · Generation

None. You issue the invoice and store it; nothing is sent to ZATCA at the moment of issue.

Phase 2 · Integration

A live API connection to the Fatoora platform, for every invoice-generating unit in your business.

Standard tax invoice (B2B)

Phase 1 · Generation

You issue it and give it to the buyer.

Phase 2 · Integration

It goes to Fatoora for clearance before it is shared with the buyer. The platform validates it, applies a cryptographic stamp and a QR code, and returns it to you cleared.

Simplified tax invoice (B2C)

Phase 1 · Generation

You issue it and hand it over, and it must carry a QR code.

Phase 2 · Integration

Your own solution stamps it using a cryptographic stamp identifier (CSID) issued by ZATCA and adds a Phase 2 QR code (nine tags, TLV in Base64), then reports it to Fatoora within 24 hours.

What the invoice carries

Phase 1 · Generation

The tax-invoice fields required by the regulations, and a QR code on simplified invoices.

Phase 2 · Integration

All of the above plus a UUID, a cryptographic stamp, a hash linking each invoice to the one before it, and a sequential counter per invoice-generating unit.

The wave system

Every business gets its own integration date

Phase 2 does not start for everyone on the same day. ZATCA divides taxpayers into waves, and sets for each wave a threshold of VAT-taxable revenue in one or more reference years, plus that wave’s own integration date. Revenue is the only criterion — not sector, not headcount, not the kind of work you do.

The Phase 2 waves announced as at this page’s review date. Thresholds are in Saudi Riyals and are measured against revenue subject to VAT.

  • Waves 1 – 19

    SAR 3bn down to SAR 1.75m

    Reference years
    2021 – 2023
    Integration date
    Deadlines passed between Jan 2023 and Sep 2025

  • Wave 20

    SAR 1,500,000

    Reference years
    2022 or 2023
    Integration date
    31 October 2025

  • Wave 21

    SAR 1,250,000

    Reference years
    2022, 2023 or 2024
    Integration date
    30 November 2025

  • Wave 22

    SAR 1,000,000

    Reference years
    2022, 2023 or 2024
    Integration date
    31 December 2025

  • Wave 23

    SAR 750,000

    Reference years
    2022, 2023 or 2024
    Integration date
    31 March 2026

  • Wave 24

    SAR 375,000

    Reference years
    2022, 2023 or 2024
    Integration date
    30 June 2026

  • Wave 25

    SAR 187,500

    Reference years
    2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025
    Integration date
    From 1 February 2027
    Still ahead

Note that Wave 24’s threshold is the mandatory VAT registration threshold itself (SAR 375,000), and Wave 25’s is the voluntary registration threshold (SAR 187,500). In practice: if you are VAT-registered today, treat yourself as in scope for Phase 2 and plan accordingly.

How to find out which wave you are in

  1. 1

    ZATCA’s own notification is the authority

    ZATCA notifies the businesses targeted in each wave through the official channels registered against your account, at least six months before the integration date. That notice — not a calculator, not an article — is what you build your schedule on.

  2. 2

    Before it arrives, compare your revenue to the thresholds

    Check your VAT-taxable revenue in each reference year separately, not just the most recent one. Exceeding the threshold in any one of the listed years is enough to put you in the wave.

  3. 3

    Start preparing before the notice lands

    Six months sounds generous until you start: onboarding the solution, issuing a cryptographic stamp certificate per invoice-generating unit, testing in the sandbox, training the finance team. Businesses that wait for the notice arrive at the deadline still testing.

What Mezan does

E-invoicing inside the system, not bolted onto it

E-invoicing in Mezan is not a module you buy on top of the software. The invoice you raise in Mezan Core and the receipt you print at the till travel the same path.

Both phases from Mezan Core

Sales invoices and credit and debit notes are produced in the required format with the required fields, and submitted to Fatoora for clearance before they are shared with the buyer.

Phase 2 at the point of sale

Mezan POS issues simplified invoices already stamped and carrying a Phase 2 QR code, and reports them to Fatoora inside the statutory window.

Cryptographic stamping

Stamping is applied per invoice-generating unit using the CSID issued by ZATCA, and the certificates and their renewal are managed from inside the system.

QR codes

A QR code matching the phase you are actually in — Phase 1 tags before integration, Phase 2 tags after — rendered on the printed copy and on the PDF.

XML and PDF/A-3

The invoice is built as XML to ZATCA’s standard, shared with your customer as PDF/A-3 with embedded XML when they ask for it, and archived in both.

Fatoora integration

An API connection to the Fatoora platform, with the status of every invoice visible: cleared, cleared with warnings, or rejected with the reason.

What we handle, and what stays with you

Any vendor telling you they "take care of everything" either does not know the process or is selling you a reassurance they do not own. Integration is joint work, and here is the line.

Mezan’s side

The whole technical half — the part you should not have to learn.

  • Building the invoice in the format and with the fields your current phase requires
  • Applying the cryptographic stamp, the invoice hash chain and the sequential counter per unit
  • Talking to Fatoora, and handling clearance, reporting, responses and errors
  • Keeping the solution current as ZATCA’s specifications change, without stopping your work
  • Walking you through onboarding and certificate issuance step by step, on WhatsApp or the phone

Your side

Statutory acts in your business’s name that no vendor can perform for you.

  • VAT registration, and keeping your business details correct with ZATCA
  • Watching for the official notice of your wave and its date — the obligation to meet it is yours
  • Signing in to the taxpayer portal, onboarding the solution and requesting the cryptographic stamp certificate — done from your account, with us on the line
  • The tax content of the invoice itself: classification, rates, exemption reasons, buyer details
  • Retaining invoices and notes for the statutory period

Onboarding

From "we need to integrate" to your first cleared invoice

This is the actual sequence, not a marketing shortcut. Steps that happen inside your own ZATCA account are marked as such.

  1. 1

    Establish your wave and its date

    Either from the official notice ZATCA sent you, or inferred from your revenue in the reference years. The notice remains the authority.

  2. 2

    Inventory your invoice-generating units

    Every POS terminal, every branch, every system issuing invoices in the business’s name. Each unit has its own certificate, counter and hash chain, and this inventory is what determines the size of the job.

  3. 3

    Onboard from the taxpayer portal

    From your own ZATCA account on Fatoora: request onboarding, then generate the OTP that is entered into Mezan to issue each unit’s cryptographic stamp certificate. This step happens in your account.

  4. 4

    Test before you go live

    Issue test documents of all four kinds — standard invoice, simplified invoice, credit note, debit note — and confirm they are accepted and that the QR code decodes correctly before you rely on any of it.

  5. 5

    Go live, then watch the invoice status

    After go-live the monitoring is daily: anything rejected or flagged with a warning surfaces in Mezan with its reason, so your team clears it before it piles up.

Frequently asked

In short, what is the difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2?

Phase 1 (Generation) changed how you produce an invoice: a compliant electronic system instead of handwriting, a word processor or a spreadsheet. Phase 2 (Integration) connects that system to the Fatoora platform: standard tax invoices are cleared by ZATCA before they reach the buyer, and simplified tax invoices are reported within 24 hours of being issued. Phase 2 is additive — every Phase 1 obligation still stands.

How do I know which wave I am in?

The definitive answer is the official notice ZATCA sends you at least six months before your integration date. Until it arrives you can infer your wave by comparing your VAT-taxable revenue in each reference year against the announced thresholds — exceeding a threshold in any one of the listed years is enough. Use the inference to start early, not as a substitute for the notice.

Does Phase 2 reach small businesses?

Yes. The thresholds have fallen wave after wave until they reached the VAT registration thresholds themselves: SAR 375,000 for mandatory registration and SAR 187,500 for voluntary. In practice, if your business is VAT-registered, treat yourself as in scope for Phase 2 and plan on that basis.

What happens to a B2B invoice before I send it to my customer?

Under Phase 2 the invoice is submitted as XML to the Fatoora platform over the API for clearance. The platform validates it, then applies a cryptographic stamp and a QR code and returns it to you cleared. Only then do you share it with the buyer — as XML, or as PDF/A-3 with embedded XML.

What about point-of-sale receipts?

A simplified tax invoice does not wait for ZATCA. Your solution stamps it and applies the QR code, it goes straight to the customer, and it is then reported to Fatoora within 24 hours of issue. That is exactly why it matters that the till keeps working offline and sends the backlog when the connection returns — which is what Mezan POS does.

Can Mezan connect my business to Fatoora on my behalf?

The technical half is entirely ours: building the invoice, stamping it, talking to the platform, handling responses. But onboarding the solution and issuing the cryptographic stamp certificate happen inside your business’s own ZATCA account on the taxpayer portal, and no vendor can do that for you. We stay on the line with you until it is done.

Is Mezan "ZATCA approved"?

ZATCA does not certify solutions in the way the market advertises. It publishes an indicative list of e-invoicing service providers, and states explicitly that a taxpayer who meets the requirements is compliant even if their provider is not on that list. The test is whether the invoices your system produces match ZATCA’s specifications and are accepted by Fatoora — which is what we commit to, and what we will show you running on your own data in a demo.

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