Since Phase 2, the Authority no longer learns your sales from your return alone. Every tax invoice passes through it for clearance and every simplified invoice reaches it by reporting, so it holds two figures for each period: what you declared on your VAT return, and what actually reached it through the Fatoora platform. That is why the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority lists, among the most common mistakes, differences between the sales declared on the return and the e-invoicing data, and asks taxpayers to check that every invoice has been uploaded correctly before filing.
Where do the differences come from?
Invoices that never reached Fatoora
A point-of-sale device that was never connected, a branch issuing from old software, or simplified invoices not reported within 24 hours of issue. Their sales are in your books and on your return, but not in the Authority's data. Hence one of the Authority's own examples: connect all devices and programs to the Fatoora platform.
Rejected or pending invoices counted on the return
A tax invoice the Authority rejected was never cleared, and one still awaiting clearance has not been accepted yet. If you prepare the return from the sales ledger without looking at each document's status, documents the Authority does not know about can enter it. A rejected document is not fixed by editing it but by issuing a correct one — see correcting a rejected invoice.
Tax codes that put sales in the wrong box
The return separates standard-rated sales, domestic zero-rated sales, exports and exempt sales. A wrong exemption reason code moves the amount from one box to another, so the split differs even when the total matches. Details in VAT category and exemption reason codes and export invoices.
Credit and debit notes outside the system
A reduction or cancellation booked with a manual journal entry and no electronic credit note lowers sales on the return and never appears in Fatoora.
A VAT group invoicing under its members' numbers
A VAT group files one return under its own number, so it must issue its e-invoices under the group's TIN — another of the Authority's explicit examples. A member issuing under a different number puts its sales in Fatoora under a number that does not match the return.
Invoices that fail "verify invoice validity"
The Authority's third example is applying the e-invoicing requirements for verifying an invoice's validity: a QR code that can be read and checked, and data that matches the document. An invoice that cannot be verified is no evidence for the buyer or the Authority — see the QR code on the invoice.
Reconcile before every return
Make reconciliation a fixed step before filing, not something you do after the Authority writes:
- Count the documents: how many you issued in the period, how many the Authority accepted, how many are pending, how many were rejected.
- Deal with pending and rejected first: pending documents are followed until accepted; rejected ones are corrected with a new document.
- Match totals by category: standard-rated sales, domestic zero-rated, exports and exempt, each against its box.
- Review the notes: every reduction in sales has an accepted electronic credit note.
- Check the sources: is every device, branch and sales channel connected to Fatoora?
- Document any remaining difference and its cause before filing.
If you find an error in a previous return, the Authority allows small errors to be corrected in a later return within a limit it publishes, while anything above it requires amending the original return. Check the limit in force before choosing the route.
Why does the Authority care about this difference?
Because it is the clearest sign that part of the sales sits outside the e-invoicing system, or that the tax classification is wrong. A difference you cannot explain can become a violation; one you understand and correct in time is ordinary accounting work. Either way, the invoice remains the evidence — as covered in tax compliance: the invoice as evidence.
How this looks in alFatora
The VAT return in the alFatora app is built from the same documents that go to the Authority, so the reconciliation is part of the page:
- A line on how the period stands: how many documents you issued, how many the Authority accepted, how many are waiting, how many were refused.
- Unaccepted documents stay out of the boxes: documents the Authority has not accepted yet are not in the figures and are listed separately; refused ones are named on their own, because they only join the return through a correct document.
- Every box opens its documents: click a figure to see the invoices and notes behind it.
- Exports in their own box according to the reason code, apart from domestic zero-rated sales.
- Working papers for your accountant, ready to export.
Frequently asked questions
Why do the sales on my return differ from the Fatoora data?
Usually invoices that never reached the platform from unconnected devices or branches, rejected or pending documents counted on the return, tax codes that put sales in the wrong box, or reductions booked without an electronic credit note.
Under which VAT number does a VAT group issue its invoices?
Under the group’s VAT number, because the group files one return under it. A member issuing under another number creates a difference between the return and the Fatoora data.
Do I count a rejected invoice on the return?
No. A rejected tax invoice was never cleared; it is corrected by issuing a correct document that is accepted, and that is the one that joins the return.
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