About prerequisites

Before you set up Sovos, address the following regulatory requirements and other requirements directly with the UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and Ministry of Finance (MoF). Make sure you have your company identifiers and buyer main data ready before you begin. After addressing all the requirements, go to EmaraTax onboarding to onboard to Sovos.

Regulatory requirements - Your company identifiers

Before you submit invoices, confirm that your company meets these regulatory requirements:

Corporate Tax Registration Number (TRN)

A 15-digit alphanumeric number used to derive your Tax Identification Number (TIN) and as your legal identifier on invoices.

TIN

First 10 digits of your TRN. The TIN is required for all in-scope businesses. Register with the FTA at EmaraTax if you don't have a TRN already.

VAT TRN

A 15-character identifier that starts with 1 and ends with 03. If you are VAT-registered, you need to include it on every UAE e-invoice as a supplier identifier field.

Group VAT TRN

Companies under a Group VAT registration share a single Group VAT TRN. Use the Group VAT TRN as your VAT TRN on invoices. Individual member TRNs are not accepted for this field. However, each entity must still derive its own TIN from its own individual Corporate TRN, not the Group TRN.

Trade License Number

Legal identifier issued by the local emirate authority where your company is registered. Needed on Tax Invoices and Commercial Invoices. The issuing authority must be captured alongside the number.

Buyer PEPPOL IDs

Collect the PEPPOL Participant ID (0235:TIN) of each buyer before issuing invoices to them.

System failure reporting

Report any system outage to the FTA within two business days.

VAT group members

Each entity has to use its group TRN, not the individual VAT TRN. The individual VAT TRN is suspended after you are included in a VAT Group.

TIN and TRN format rules

The UAE uses multiple identifiers depending on registration status: TIN, Corporate TRN, and VAT TRN. Follow these rules:

• Use only the TIN (10 digits) in the Sender and Receiver identifiers. No separators, no country prefix.

• Use the full VAT TRN where PINT-AE needs the seller's or buyer's tax identifier on the invoice.

• Each entity derives its TIN from its own Corporate TRN. In a Group VAT registration, individual member TRNs are not accepted for the VAT TRN field on invoices. Use the Group VAT TRN instead.

Buyer main identifiers

Before you go live, confirm that your company has a buyer main file. Missing buyer data at invoice issuance causes rejections. Identifying gaps early is high priority.

Other requirements

Invoice format

PINT-AE XML (PEPPOL International, UAE national extension).

Archiving

Five years for general use cases and seven years for real estate. Archiving period is extended during audits.

VAT types and rates

Tax type	Rate	Notes
Standard	5%	Applies to most goods and services supplied within the UAE.
Zero-rated	0%	No VAT charged, but businesses can recover input VAT.
Reverse charge	5%	Buyer accounts for both output and input VAT. Net VAT payable is zero.
Margin scheme	5%	Applies only to sales under the margin scheme (for example, second-hand goods). VAT category code: N.

Note:

See UAE Ministry of Finance e-invoicing portal (MoF) for the latest information about applying VAT.

VAT group members

Each entity must use its own TRN, not the VAT group representative's TRN.

Transmission deadline

Within 14 days of the transaction date (only applies to non-VAT registered); in line with VAT time-of-supply rules (VAT registered).

Document types

Electronic Tax Invoice, Electronic Credit Note, Self-billing Invoice, Self-billing Credit Note, and Commercial Invoice.

Language

Arabic and English supported.

No QR code or barcode

XML-only; no visual codes needed.