The general rule is that the supplier issues the invoice. But in two very different cases, issuing leaves the supplier's hands: self-billing, where the buyer issues the invoice on behalf of a domestic supplier under an agreement between them, and the reverse charge, where no Saudi invoice exists at all because the supplier is non-resident — so the buyer accounts for the VAT in their own return. The two are commonly confused, and each takes a different path through your system.
Self-billing: the buyer issues on the supplier's behalf
In some arrangements the buyer is practically better placed to invoice — a platform settling with many suppliers over sales it knows before they do. The regulations permit this under their published conditions, the foundation being a documented prior agreement between the parties, plus approvals where required — check the Authority's publications before adopting the arrangement.
What matters technically: a self-billed invoice is a full Saudi invoice that travels the same Phase 2 path — stamping, then clearance or reporting — but it carries the self-billed flag in the transaction type code (the last position of the NNPNESB string). A self-billed invoice without its flag is a wrong invoice even when its amounts are right; and remember that export and self-billed cannot combine in one document.
The reverse charge: no Saudi invoice at all
When your business imports a service from a non-resident supplier — a software subscription from abroad, say — that supplier sits outside Saudi e-invoicing entirely: they do not issue through the Fatoora platform, and are not required to. Instead the reverse charge operates: your business accounts for output VAT on the imported service's value in your return, and deducts it as input VAT in the same return, to the extent the deduction rules allow.
The technical point here is the exact mirror: the reverse charge lives in the VAT return, not in the invoicing system. Do not try to issue a Saudi e-invoice for imported purchases — the VAT categories the platform accepts on invoices do not include the reverse charge; its place is your accounting records and your return.
The two-line comparison
- Self-billing: a domestic transaction; a full Saudi invoice issued by the buyer with its dedicated flag, passing through the platform like any invoice.
- Reverse charge: a transaction with a non-resident; no invoice through the platform — the VAT is accounted for and deducted in the return.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Self-billing without a documented prior agreement — the agreement is the arrangement's foundation, not a formality.
- Omitting the self-billed flag in the type code.
- Pushing an imported service through as a domestic e-invoice.
- Forgetting the reverse charge in the return for imported services — the obligation stands even though no invoice does.
In alFatora a self-billed invoice is built with its correct flag from the same document model and takes its path to the platform automatically — try the full case in the free sandbox.
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