A taxable person in Bahrain must issue an original tax invoice for every supply of goods or services, containing at least fourteen items specified by the Executive Regulation of the Value Added Tax Law, and must issue it no later than fifteen days after the end of the month in which the supply took place.

When a Tax Invoice Must Be Issued

Article (38) of the Value Added Tax Law establishes the obligation to issue an invoice:

A Taxable Person must issue an original copy of the Tax Invoice when supplying Goods and Services, including a Deemed Supply, or upon receiving the consideration in whole or in part before the date of supply.

Article (39) fixes the maximum deadline for issuing it:

A Taxable Person must issue the Tax Invoice no later than fifteen days from the end of the month in which the supply took place.

Mandatory Content of a Tax Invoice

Article (52) of the Executive Regulation lists the data that must, at minimum, appear on a tax invoice, including:

A Tax Invoice must contain, at a minimum, the following data: 1) A clear statement "Tax Invoice". 2) The name and address of the Taxable Person, and the registration number. 3) The name and address of the customer. 4) The date of issuance of the Tax Invoice and the date of supply or the date of payment if different from the date of issuance of the invoice. 5) The sequential invoice number.

The same article adds the following items to complete the list:

6) A description of the Goods or Services supplied. 7) The quantity of Goods supplied. 8) The value of the supply in dinars, showing the unit price excluding tax, in dinars. 9) The value of any discounts and the net value of the supply in dinars. 10) The rate and amount of tax applied. 11) The total amount due for the supply inclusive of tax, in dinars.

The remaining items complete the mandatory list: the exchange rate applied when a currency other than the dinar is used, an explicit reference to calculating tax on a profit-margin basis when that mechanism is applied, and an explicit reference to the transaction's exception or exemption from tax.

Simplified Tax Invoices

As an exception to the full list above, Article (53) of the Executive Regulation allows a simplified tax invoice to be issued in two specific cases:

A Taxable Person may issue simplified tax invoices in any of the following cases: 1) If the customer is not registered for tax purposes in the Kingdom. 2) If the consideration does not exceed five hundred dinars.

A simplified invoice's data includes the supplier's name, address and registration number, its date of issuance, a description of the goods and services, the total amount inclusive of tax, and the rate and amount of tax applied.

Credit and Debit Notes

If it later appears that the tax amount stated in an issued invoice exceeds the actual value of the supply, the taxable person must issue a credit note to the customer; if it is less, a debit note must be issued. Such a document is treated in the same way as the original tax invoice.

Legal References

For questions about your specific situation, you can ask the Bahrain Tax & Legislation Helper on Helpers, or consult a licensed chartered accountant.