Prior to the implementation in July 2026, the UAE's Ministry of Finance has imposed penalties and fines for infractions of the legal regulation system.

Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025 states that violations and administrative penalties resulting from non-adherence to the electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) system include fines ranging from Dh100 per day to Dh5,000 per month.

In order to increase accuracy, transparency, and efficiency in VAT and other tax-related procedures, invoices are generated, shared, and reported electronically to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) in a structured, machine-readable format such as XML. This replaces traditional paper or PDF invoices.

The second quarter of 2025 saw the introduction of e-invoicing legislation in the United Arab Emirates.  In July 2026, the nation will launch the first phase of e-invoicing.

The penalties listed in Article 106 of 2025 are in accordance with the Cabinet Decision

If the issuer fails to implement the e-invoicing system, including failing to designate an accredited service provider in a timely manner, there will be a Dh5,000 fine for each month or portion of it.

If the issuer fails to issue and submit an electronic invoice to the receiver via the e-invoicing system within the allotted period, they will be penalized Dh100 for each electronic invoice, up to a maximum of Dh5,000 per calendar month.

If the issuer fails to issue and send an electronic credit note to the receiver via the electronic invoicing system within the allotted period, they will be fined Dh100 each electronic credit note, up to a maximum of Dh5,000 per calendar month.

If the issuer fails to notify the authority of a system failure within the allotted period, they will be fined Dh1,000 for each day or portion of the delay.

If the recipient fails to notify the authority of a system failure within the allotted period, they will be fined Dh1,000 for each day of delay, or a portion of that amount.

If the issuer or the recipient fails to promptly notify the designated accredited service provider of changes to the data registered with the authority, there will be a Dh1,000 punishment for each day of delay, or a portion of it.
According to Aurifer's founding partner Thomas Vanhee, the Cabinet resolution outlines sanctions for enforcing the e-invoicing system.
E-invoicing is now a compliance requirement with clear financial repercussions, according to Anurag Chaturvedi, CEO of Andersen in the United Arab Emirates.
Businesses that are required by the tax processes framework to implement the UAE's Electronic Invoicing System are the target of these fines.  The aim is not businesses that freely experiment with electronic invoicing.  Enforcement is now quantifiable and no longer theoretical for all parties involved.

He went on to say that the choice clearly results in a cost of delay from a business standpoint.

A company will be fined Dh5,000 per month (or a portion of a month) if it fails to implement e-invoicing or designate a certified service provider before the deadline.  To put it another way, readiness turns into a board-level KPI: "every month of slippage has a price tag," he continued.

The CEO of Andersen UAE stated that penalties of Dh100 per document, limited at Dh5,000 per month for invoices and separately for credit notes, apply if invoices or credit notes are issued but not transmitted through the system within the necessary schedule.  The cap lessens the impact, but it also shows that consistent transactional discipline is what regulators value most.

He warned that incident management poses the greatest danger because both issuers and recipients must promptly notify the authorities in the event of a system malfunction or risk a Dh1,000 daily (or part-day) fee.
"If reporting procedures are inadequate or IT–finance coordination is sluggish, a minor outage can quickly escalate into a compounding compliance exposure."

Lastly, the ruling promotes better commercial data governance.  "Master data controls are a compliance requirement, not an administrative task; failure to notify the accredited provider of changes to registered information can also result in Dh1,000 per day penalties."

In the end, he said, "the UAE is turning e-invoicing into a regulated operating model – driving investment in systems readiness, controls, and rapid incident response."