Tax invoices, simplified invoices and credit notes
You will be able to: List the particulars of a standard tax invoice and of a simplified tax invoice; Explain when a tax credit note is needed and what happens to VAT; Match each document type to its Zeyto screen.
- Read not done yet
- Self-check: not taken not done yet
- Lesson complete not done yet
A tax invoice is the document that records a taxable supply. UAE VAT law (Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017, Article 67) says it must be issued within 14 days of the date of supply. For the supplier it fixes the date of supply and the tax period in which the output tax belongs. For the buyer it is the evidence behind an input VAT claim.
A standard tax invoice must show
- The words 'tax invoice' clearly displayed, the date of issue, and the date of supply if it differs.
- The supplier's name, address and TRN, and the recipient's name and address with their TRN if registered.
- A description of the goods or services, and for each one the unit price, quantity, VAT rate and amount payable in AED.
- A sequential or unique invoice number.
- The gross amount payable and the total VAT in AED, plus any discount offered.
- For a foreign-currency invoice, the exchange rate applied and its source; the FTA guide says to convert using a Central Bank approved rate.
- Where the customer must account for the VAT (reverse charge), a statement saying so and a reference to the legal provision.
Simplified tax invoice
Under the VAT rules as the FTA published them before the e-invoicing reform, a simplified tax invoice is allowed when the buyer is not VAT-registered, or when the buyer is registered and the VAT-inclusive consideration is AED 10,000 or less. It needs only the words 'tax invoice' prominently, the supplier's name, address and TRN, the date of issue, a description enough to identify the goods or services, and the total consideration and VAT charged. Retail receipts are the usual example. Important: Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2025 amended Articles 59 and 60 of the VAT Executive Regulation for the e-invoicing reform, and advisers report that the simplified invoice option ends for businesses once they are brought into the e-invoicing system (see the e-invoicing lesson for the Ministry of Finance timetable). Until your business is onboarded, check with the FTA and the Ministry of Finance which invoice rules apply to you.
Credit notes
The FTA's guide says errors on a tax invoice are corrected with a tax credit note or an additional tax invoice, not by editing the original. A credit note identifies the original supply and shows the amount credited and the VAT on it. It reduces the supplier's output VAT and the buyer's input VAT.
Which Zeyto screen makes which document
| Document | Zeyto screen | What it does to VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Tax invoice | Sales, Sales Invoice | Records output VAT on submit; the printout is the tax invoice |
| Simplified tax invoice | POS, POS Terminal (receipts in POS Receipts) | Each finished sale is posted as a POS receipt, a simplified tax invoice |
| Tax credit note | Sales, Sales Return | Reduces the sale and the output VAT; credits the customer |
| Supplier's invoice (input) | Purchase, Purchase Invoice | Records input VAT you can claim |
| Supplier credit note | Purchase, Purchase Return | Reduces input VAT |
| Advance tax invoice | Accounting, Advances / Sales, Advance Tax Invoices | VAT is due when an advance is received |
In Zeyto a sales return can be started from the original invoice with Create Against, so quantities and prices carry over and you cannot return more than was invoiced. Cancelling or amending a return is refused when its date falls in a VAT period you have already filed. Print your standard invoice template and check it against the list above; Designers, Documents lets you adjust a template.
Rules change; always check the FTA website.
Try it in the demo
- Open Sales, Sales Invoice and press + New Sales Invoice. Find Date of Supply in the More details tab.
- Pick a customer and look at the read-only box that shows its TRN, address and phone.
- Open Sales, Sales Return and read the Create Against field: which source document types can it use?
- Open Sales, Advance Tax Invoices and look at the VAT on advance and VAT unapplied columns.
Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.
- A tax invoice must be issued within 14 days of the date of supply (VAT law).
- Under the earlier FTA rules simplified invoices were allowed for unregistered buyers, or registered buyers at AED 10,000 or less; e-invoicing reform is ending this option.
- Errors are fixed with a tax credit note or an additional tax invoice.
- In Zeyto, a Sales Invoice is the tax invoice and a Sales Return is the tax credit note.
Check yourself
5 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.
1. Under UAE VAT law, a tax invoice must be issued within 14 days of the date of supply.
2. Which Zeyto screen issues a tax credit note to a customer?
3. Under the FTA's tax invoice rules as they stood before the e-invoicing reform, when was a simplified tax invoice allowed?
4. Which items must appear on a standard tax invoice?
Select all that apply.