ZATCA applies Phase 2 of e-invoicing — the Integration Phase — in waves, and nobody's date arrives as a surprise: the Authority notifies the taxpayers in each wave at least six months before their compliance date, through official notice. The announced criterion for assigning waves is VAT-taxable revenue.
The two phases, briefly
Phase 1 — Generation (from 4 December 2021): handwritten invoices and invoices produced in text editors stopped being acceptable. Invoices must be generated and stored through a compliant e-invoicing system, with a QR code on simplified invoices. Phase 1 applies to all taxpayers subject to the regulation, with no waves.
Phase 2 — Integration (from 1 January 2023, in waves): the taxpayer's invoicing system integrates with ZATCA's Fatoora platform. Standard tax invoices are submitted for clearance before being shared with the buyer, and simplified invoices are reported within 24 hours of issue.
How the waves are set
ZATCA has announced waves successively, by taxable revenue:
- Wave 1: businesses with revenue above SAR 3 billion, obliged from 1 January 2023.
- Wave 2: businesses with revenue above SAR 500 million, obliged from 1 July 2023.
- Subsequent waves: the Authority has continued announcing waves with progressively lower revenue thresholds, each published on its official channels at least six months before its compliance date.
The exact threshold and the reference years for computing revenue are stated in the Authority's own announcement for each wave — that announcement is the reference, not any copied table.
Received your ZATCA notice? Here is what it means
Your compliance date is stated in the notice itself. The six months before it are your preparation window:
- Choose a compliant solution that covers Phase 2 end to end: the approved XML invoice format, cryptographic stamping, the sequential invoice counter, and integration with the Fatoora platform.
- Integrate early in a sandbox, not in the week of your deadline. Early testing surfaces data gaps — missing VAT registration numbers, incomplete addresses — while there is still time to fix them calmly.
- Run a full cycle: an invoice, a credit note, a debit note, all the way through clearance or reporting.
That turns compliance day into a formality instead of an emergency project.
No notice yet?
- Compare your taxable revenue against the announced wave thresholds; the pattern so far is that thresholds come down with each wave.
- Follow ZATCA's official channels — every new wave is announced at least six months ahead.
- Phase 1 obligations already apply to you today; make sure your current invoices meet them.
Integrating early does not mean paying early: alFatora's sandbox is free and unlimited, and a credit is only ever spent when a document clears in production.
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