What is electronic invoicing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia has begun to focus on several initiatives aimed at digitizing the economy. The General Authority of Zakat and Tax was merged with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, with the aim of introducing the electronic invoicing system in the Kingdom, and a draft amendment was published on September 17, 2020 in line with the executive regulations for value-added tax. The draft amendment covered all aspects of electronic invoicing procedures.
E-invoicing is a procedure aimed at converting the issuance of paper invoices to electronic mode. The electronic invoicing process allows the exchange and processing of invoices and credit and debit notes in a structured electronic format between the buyer and the seller using an integrated electronic solution. All provisions relating to the tax invoice in the Value Added Tax (VAT) legislation will apply to the electronic invoice, and any non-compliance will result in fines from the Zakat and Tax Authority. Regardless, the provisions related to proving electronic transactions and electronic signatures in the electronic transactions system in the Kingdom apply to electronic invoices and electronic notices issued.
Why were electronic invoices introduced in Saudi Arabia?
The Saudi government intends to phase out handwritten invoices and move towards a paperless digital environment. Accordingly, it introduced the electronic invoicing system in the Kingdom so that companies can operate more efficiently and securely. Under e-invoicing, companies must integrate their systems with the authority to make trade more transparent. Through this move, the government can standardize how invoices are reported to the system in a common, machine-readable format, as taxpayers must push all transactions to an invoice portal. Accordingly, Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority can easily detect fraudulent activities. Electronic invoicing also creates a common database for audits. Thus, the tax authority can track the transaction in real time and reduce the frequency of audits.
» Advantages of electronic invoicing
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Before talking about the electronic invoicing system and the electronic invoice of the Zakat Authority, we will need to know the most important advantages of electronic invoicing, as electronic invoices benefit suppliers and buyers alike, as electronic invoicing helps:
- Cut costs
- Facilitate automation
- Shorten payment cycles
- Improved account reconciliation
- Promote compliance
- Prevent errors, losses and fraud
- Improving the relationship between supplier and customer
- Reducing carbon footprint
The General Authority of Zakat and Income has identified the elements related to tax invoices, and the following are the most important elements issued by the executive regulations of the system:
- Invoice serial number
- Invoice QR Code
- Merchant's name and address
- Tax Number
- The date on which the invoice was issued is in the format (YYYY-MM-DD)
- Description of the good or service provided
- Quantity or number of units sold
- The price of the good or service provided
- The total amount does not include VAT
- The total invoice value includes VAT
- Value added tax amount
Features of the program
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Follow Up Your Sales, Accounts, Customers, Stores :
- You can follow up your sales, accounts, customers, stores, and employees accurately and in a customized manner according to your field of work, and we follow up in a CIBS of all updates and requirements issued by the Authority and include them in the program immediately, free of charge for users of the program.
Connect your company to the Saudi electronic invoice system
As a software solution compatible with the requirements of the General Authority of Zakat and Tax, CIBS allows you to easily connect with the Saudi e-invoice system through the application programming interface (API) provided by the program, in addition to the ability to send the required e-invoice data to the authority’s system smoothly and securely and with the specified controls. With technical support available to facilitate the connection process with the system.
Update your account according to the second stage of electronic invoice
Stay up to date with the latest requirements of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority regarding the second phase of the electronic invoice; This is to avoid disrupting your investment career.
Create an electronic invoice compatible with the Saudi Zakat and Tax Authority
CIBS allows you to issue electronic invoices in accordance with the requirements of the General Authority of Zakat and Income for the electronic invoice system, where you can issue your invoices using the approved forms of the tax invoice or the simplified invoice, in addition to the program supporting applicable taxes such as value-added tax and automatically including them in the issued invoices, in addition to... Basic information required, such as the customer’s tax number and the organization’s tax information.
Include the necessary data in your electronic invoices within Saudi Arabia
CIBS allows you to configure your invoices according to the controls specified by the Zakat and Income Authority, as it allows you to include a non-duplicate serial number, along with the name and address fields in detail, with the possibility of adding the tax number of the organization and the customer, with a description of the goods or services that you provide to your customers, and including the applicable taxes. It is calculated automatically within the invoice, in preparation for issuing it in the necessary electronic form and sending it to the electronic invoice system.