During the Generation Phase of Saudi Arabia's e-invoicing ('Fatoora') regime, effective from 4 December 2021, a VAT-registered business issues a simplified tax invoice for a cash sale to a walk-in retail customer, and separately issues a standard tax invoice to another VAT-registered business. Under ZATCA's e-invoicing requirements as they applied during this phase, which of these invoices was required to carry a QR code?
- Only the simplified tax invoice issued to the retail customer; a QR code was not a mandatory field on the standard tax invoice issued to the VAT-registered business during the Generation Phase
- Only the standard tax invoice issued to the VAT-registered business; simplified invoices were not required to carry a QR code until the later Integration Phase
- Both invoices required a QR code during the Generation Phase, with no distinction drawn between simplified and standard invoices
- Neither invoice required a QR code during the Generation Phase; the QR code requirement was introduced only once the later Integration Phase began
Why A? And why not the others?
Correct answer: A. Only the simplified tax invoice issued to the retail customer; a QR code was not a mandatory field on the standard tax invoice issued to the VAT-registered business during the Generation Phase
From the start of the Generation Phase, ZATCA required a QR code encoding basic seller and invoice data on simplified tax invoices, which are the invoice type typically issued for cash or retail (largely B2C) transactions where the buyer is not identified by a VAT number. A standard tax invoice, issued between VAT-registered businesses, instead had to show the buyer's VAT registration number, but a QR code was not a mandatory field on that invoice type until the buyer-facing verification features introduced with the later Integration Phase. The option reversing which invoice needed the QR code gets the two invoice types backwards. The option requiring a QR code on both invoice types during the Generation Phase overstates the rule, which distinguished between invoice types from the outset. The option claiming neither invoice needed a QR code until the Integration Phase ignores that the QR code on simplified invoices was one of the defined compliance requirements from the Generation Phase's very start in December 2021, well before Integration Phase rollouts began.
Source: ZATCA e-invoicing (Fatoora) Detailed Guidelines, Generation Phase requirements (effective 4 December 2021)