What is changing
The UAE is introducing mandatory electronic invoicing for business-to-business and business-to-government transactions. Instead of emailing a PDF, a business will issue invoices in a structured format through an Accredited Service Provider, which validates them and reports them to the Federal Tax Authority. The programme is set out in Ministerial Decisions 243 and 244 of 2025, with the penalties in Cabinet Decision 106 of 2025.
The dates
A pilot began in July 2026 with selected businesses. Businesses with annual revenue of AED 50 million or more must issue e-invoices from 1 January 2027 and appoint their service provider by 30 October 2026. Everyone else, which includes almost every studio, gym and clinic, must be live by 1 July 2027 and have a provider appointed by 31 March 2027. Government entities follow in October 2027.
- Revenue of AED 50 million or more: provider by 30 October 2026, live 1 January 2027
- Everyone else: provider by 31 March 2027, live 1 July 2027
Who is in scope
The first phases cover invoices between businesses and to government. Sales to consumers, which are most of a studio's revenue, are outside the initial scope. The invoices that are caught are the ones you issue to companies: corporate wellness packages, partner reconciliations, room hire, sponsorships and anything a business asks a tax invoice for.
Whether a business below the VAT registration threshold is caught is one of the details to confirm with your adviser as the guidance settles. The safe assumption for planning is that you will be.
Penalties
The published penalties include AED 5,000 for each month a business fails to appoint a service provider after its deadline, AED 100 per invoice not issued electronically when required, capped monthly, and daily penalties for failing to notify the authority of system failures or changes. They are designed to be avoidable by anyone who starts early.
What your booking system needs to do
Your platform already produces tax invoices. For e-invoicing it will need to produce them in the required structured format and pass them to an accredited provider, then store the provider's acknowledgement with the invoice. That is a change to the invoicing engine, not to how you sell, and it is the vendor's job to make. Ask your platform when its provider connection will be live and whether it will cost extra.
Bare Links is tracking the rollout and will add the provider connection to the invoicing engine before the July 2027 deadline for studios, with no change to your subscription.
A note on this guide
The dates and penalties above are the published figures as of the date shown and may be adjusted by the authorities. This is general guidance, not tax advice. Confirm your own obligations with your accountant or tax agent.