The UAE Ministry of Finance has issued Ministerial Decision No. 197 of 2026, amending certain provisions of Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 on the Electronic Invoicing System. The ministry says the changes are intended to clarify certain requirements, support implementation of the system and reduce operational burdens on businesses. The Decision has been effective since 1 October 2026.
Business transactions between persons that are members of the same Tax Group are temporarily excluded from the system. For 24 months starting on 1 January 2027, these transactions are treated as Excluded Transactions.
Article 11, on the storage of electronic invoice and electronic credit note data, has been amended. Persons subject to the system must keep all electronic invoices, electronic credit notes and associated data for the period set by the Tax Procedures Law, and be able to provide them to the Federal Tax Authority on request. The previous requirement to store this data within the UAE has been removed.
The "System Failure" provisions have also been removed, including the requirement to notify the Federal Tax Authority of a system failure within two business days. This was done by repealing Article 12 and deleting the related definition from Article 1.
Source: UAE Ministry of Finance