Every taxable person in Saudi Arabia must issue a full Tax Invoice when supplying another taxable person or a legal entity, containing at least specific details set out in the Implementing Regulations, while a Simplified Tax Invoice is sufficient for supplies to other persons (such as final consumers); a summary Tax Invoice may also be issued instead of separate full invoices for multiple supplies to the same customer within a month where each of those supplies is worth less than SAR 1,000.
When Must a Full Tax Invoice Be Issued?
The Implementing Regulations of the VAT Law provide that every Taxable Person must issue, or arrange for the issuance of, a Tax Invoice containing the minimum required information in cases including: a taxable supply of goods or services to another Taxable Person, to a non-taxable legal Person, or to an establishment; receipt of consideration before such a supply; and intra-GCC supplies and exports. The Tax Invoice must be issued no later than the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the supply took place.
Contents of a Full Tax Invoice
A full Tax Invoice must be issued in Arabic (a translation into another language may also be added) and must include at least: the date of issue; a sequential number uniquely identifying it; the Supplier's Tax Identification Number; the name and address of both the Supplier and the Customer; the quantity and nature of the goods or the scope and nature of the services; the date of supply where it differs from the date of issue; the taxable amount per rate or exemption, the unit price exclusive of VAT and any discounts; the rate of Tax applied and the amount of Tax payable in SAR; and, where Tax is not charged at the basic rate, a narration explaining the Tax treatment applied.
The Simplified Tax Invoice
Every taxable person must issue a Simplified Tax Invoice when supplying taxable goods or services to a person other than those referred to above (such as a final consumer), containing at least: the date of issue; the name, address and Tax Identification Number of the Supplier; a description of the goods or services supplied; the consideration payable; and the amount of Tax payable or a statement that the consideration is inclusive of Tax. A summary Tax Invoice may also be issued for multiple supplies to the same customer within a single calendar month, no later than the fifteenth day of the following month.
Credit and Debit Notes
Where the value of a supply for which a Tax Invoice was already issued later changes, for example through a price adjustment or a partial return of goods, the supplier must issue a credit or debit note reflecting the change in the Tax amount. Amendments to the Implementing Regulations introduced a specific deadline for issuing these notes: a taxable person must issue them within 15 days following the end of the month in which the event requiring their issuance occurred.
Illustrative Example
If a business sells goods to a final consumer for SAR 500 inclusive of Tax, it may issue a Simplified Tax Invoice containing a description of the goods, the consideration payable and a statement that the amount is inclusive of Tax, without needing to state the customer's Tax Identification Number. If it instead sells the same goods to another VAT-registered business, it must issue a full Tax Invoice containing the Tax Identification Number of both parties, and the Tax rate and amount shown separately.
Legal References
- IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS OF THE VALUE ADDED TAX LAW — Article 53 (full and simplified Tax Invoices, summary invoices, and the SAR 1,000 threshold).
- Guideline for Amendments to the Implementing — the section on the 15-day deadline for issuing credit and debit notes (Article 54).
For questions about your specific situation, you can ask the Saudi Arabia Tax & Legislation Helper on Helpers, or consult a licensed chartered accountant.