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UAE eInvoicing glossary: key terms in Decisions 243/2025, 244/2025 and 197/2026 explained in plain English

Published · Decisions 243/2025 and 197/2026 read in the official English text on 23 October 2026 · Cabinet Decision 106/2025 read on 24 October 2026 · MoF eInvoicing Guidelines V1.1 read on 24 October 2026 · Other official sources last reviewed 22 October 2026 · 16 min read

The UAE eInvoicing rules are written in defined terms. Words such as Person, Business and Registrant look ordinary, but in the ministerial decisions each one has a specific meaning set out in Article 1, and the scope, exclusion and timing rules only make sense once those meanings are clear. Our other guides explain these terms where they first matter, which means the explanations are spread across many articles. This glossary brings them together in one place. It now also covers the newer vocabulary used in our guides on credit notes, self-billing, reporting, penalties, system failures, the 5-corner exchange model, the PINT AE data standard and Participant Identifiers.

For each term we give a plain-English explanation, say which decision defines or uses it, and link to the guide where it is applied in practice. We paraphrase rather than reproduce the definitions, so read the official text before relying on any wording. Where the texts we reviewed do not define something, for example the label B2C, we say so instead of inventing a definition. Labels that are our own editorial shorthand are marked as such.

Which decision defines which terms

Two ministerial decisions carry most of the definitions, and a third amends one of them. A Cabinet decision on penalties and the Ministry of Finance technical guidelines add further terms.

A useful rule of thumb: terms from Decision 243/2025 tell you whether something is inside the system, and terms from Decision 244/2025 tell you when the obligations start. Our transaction scope guide explains how the two fit together.

Core scope terms (Decision 243/2025, Article 1)

Person

Any natural or juridical person. In plain terms, both individuals and legal entities such as companies count. The word is deliberately wide, because the scope rule in Article 3(a) starts from any Person conducting Business in the State.

Business

An activity conducted regularly, on an ongoing and independent basis. The definition gives industrial, commercial, agricultural, professional, vocational and service activities as examples. The words "regularly", "ongoing" and "independent" are what separate a business activity from a one-off or private one.

Business Transaction

Any transaction conducted in full or in part by a Person in the course of its Business. Article 3(a) applies the decision to every Business Transaction of a Person conducting Business in the State, unless the Person or the transaction is excluded under Article 4. This is why exclusions are applied transaction by transaction. See the transaction scope guide.

Registrant

A Person registered for VAT with a Tax Registration Number under the VAT Law. Registrant status matters in two places: under Article 6(4) a Registrant Issuer follows the issue timeline in the VAT Law, and under Article 9 self-billing is available only where both the Recipient and the Issuer are Registrants. Our Article 6 obligations guide explains both rules.

Government Entity

Federal or local ministries, government departments, agencies, authorities and public institutions, together with entities treated as such by Cabinet decisions for VAT purposes. The term is used twice in ways that are easy to mix up. Amended Article 4(1)(a) excludes transactions conducted by Government Entities in a sovereign capacity that are not in competition with the private sector, and Article 5(1)(c) of Decision 244/2025 gives Government Entities their own timetable: ASP appointment by 31 March 2027 and implementation by 1 October 2027. See the Government Entity timeline guide.

Excluded Person and Excluded Transaction

Both terms are defined in Article 1 and work through Article 4. As replaced by Decision 197/2026, Article 4(1) lists Excluded Transactions in items (a) to (g), and Article 4(2) allows the Minister to determine Excluded Persons by decision. On the MoF legislation list as we checked it on 22 October 2026, we did not identify any decision determining Excluded Persons. Article 4(3) allows voluntary participation for persons or transactions that would otherwise be excluded. Our sector exclusions guide walks through the list.

Terms added by Decision 197/2026

Tax Group

Decision 197/2026 added a definition of Tax Group to Article 1 by reference to the VAT Law. It supports the new Article 4(1)(f), under which Business Transactions between members of the same Tax Group are Excluded Transactions for 24 months starting 1 January 2027. A related company outside the Tax Group is not covered by that item. See our Decision 197/2026 guide.

Taxable Person

Also added by Decision 197/2026 and also tied to the VAT Law. It is part of the framework for the Tax Group definition. We have not recorded the full wording, so read Article 1 as amended in the official PDF.

Airline document terms

Article 1 of Decision 243/2025 defines three airline documents. We have not recorded the full wording of these definitions, so the explanations below describe only the role each term plays in the replaced Article 4.

Electronic Ticket

Used in Article 4(1)(b), which excludes international passenger transport by an Airline where an Electronic Ticket is issued.

Electronic Miscellaneous Document

Often shortened to EMD. Used in Article 4(1)(c), which excludes ancillary passenger services provided directly by the Airline where an EMD is issued.

Airway Bill

Used in Article 4(1)(d), which excludes international goods transport by an Airline with an Airway Bill. This exclusion is temporary: it runs for 24 months from the date the system becomes effective. We have not confirmed the start date of that period and therefore give no end date. Details are in the sector exclusions guide.

Timing terms (Decision 244/2025, Article 1)

Revenue

Gross income during the most recent Accounting Period, based on the financial statements the business is required to prepare or on other documentation acceptable to the Federal Tax Authority. Revenue decides which phase applies: under Article 5(1)(a), as replaced by Decision 66/2026, persons subject to the system with Revenue equal to or exceeding AED 50,000,000 appoint an ASP by 30 October 2026 and implement by 1 January 2027; below that boundary the dates are 31 March 2027 and 1 July 2027. See the revenue threshold guide.

Accounting Period

Also defined in Article 1 of Decision 244/2025. It fixes the period over which Revenue is measured. We do not paraphrase its wording here; read Article 1 directly, and ask an adviser about unusual cases such as a change of accounting period, which our sources do not address.

Programme terms

Accredited Service Provider (ASP)

A service provider accredited to connect businesses to the system. The current accreditation framework is Ministerial Decision 168/2026, announced by the MoF on 9 October 2026 and in force from 1 October 2026. It repealed Decision 64/2025 and its amendments, including Decision 56/2026, removed the former pre-approval stage and introduced direct accreditation. An older "pre-approved" label is therefore not the same as current accreditation. See the ASP accreditation guide.

Persons subject to the system

This phrase is used in the official announcements, including the FTA release of 29 September 2026, and in the revenue-based paragraphs of Decision 244/2025. It is a reminder that the dates only matter once a business is within scope under Decision 243/2025. It is not a separate list of businesses. The Government Entity paragraph is framed differently and is not a revenue category. Our deadlines guide sets out all three phases.

Invoice, correction and compliance terms

These terms describe what has to be issued, by whom, how quickly, and what happens when the rules are not followed. Most come from Decision 243/2025 as amended by Decision 197/2026; two come from Cabinet Decision 106/2025.

Electronic Credit Note

Article 1 of Decision 243/2025 defines an Electronic Credit Note, in paraphrase, as a credit note in a structured electronic format that allows automatic processing. A scanned or PDF credit note is therefore not the same thing. Article 6(2) lists four cases in which an Issuer issues one: cancellation of the transaction, a reduction of the consideration, a return of the consideration, and an administrative or numerical error. Registrant Issuers follow the VAT Law timeline for credit notes as well as invoices under Article 6(4). Whether the replaced Article 6(5) itself covers credit notes, and how its clock runs for a later credit note, is unconfirmed. See our Electronic Credit Notes guide.

Business Day and the 14 Business Days rule

Business Day is defined in Article 1 of Decision 243/2025. It matters because Article 6(5), as replaced by Decision 197/2026 and in force from 1 October 2026, gives the Issuer fourteen (14) Business Days from the Date of Business Transaction to issue and transmit, subject to Article 6(4). The original text said 14 days. The Date of Business Transaction is, in paraphrase, the earlier of the transaction and the payment. On our reading, Article 6(5) applies to Issuers outside Article 6(4); a Registrant Issuer follows the VAT Law timeline instead. Which days count as weekends or federal holidays is not stated in the texts we reviewed. The change was announced in the MoF news release of 19 October 2026. Our Article 6 obligations guide explains both timelines.

Self-Billing

"Self-billing" is the common name for the arrangement in Article 9 of Decision 243/2025. The Recipient may issue an Electronic Invoice or Electronic Credit Note on behalf of the Issuer for a supply of goods or services, but only where both parties are Registrants, and in accordance with the conditions in the VAT Executive Regulation or as otherwise determined by the Minister. On our reading, the supplier keeps the Issuer role while the buyer performs the issuing, and Article 9 does not remove the other Article 6 duties. The VAT Executive Regulation conditions are not reviewed in our sources. See our Article 9 self-billing guide.

Tax Data reporting

Article 6(6) of Decision 243/2025 requires both the Issuer and the Recipient to report to the Federal Tax Authority, within a timeline set by the Minister. The MoF Guidelines describe the data that is reported as a Tax Data Document, sent to the FTA by the ASPs in parallel with the exchange, while Message Level Status messages report back whether a step succeeded. The reporting timeline itself is unconfirmed in our sources. See our Article 6(6) reporting obligations guide.

System Failure

System Failure is defined in Article 1 of Cabinet Decision 106/2025. The penalty table sets AED 1,000 per day of delay, or part of a day, where an Issuer or a Recipient fails to notify the Authority of a System Failure within the timeline. Article 12 of Decision 243/2025, which had addressed system failure, was repealed by Decision 197/2026, and we have not identified which provision now sets the notification timeline. Our system failure and continuity guide covers practical steps without inventing a legal deadline.

Cabinet Decision 106/2025

The Cabinet decision on violations and administrative penalties for the eInvoicing system. It applies to violations of the eInvoicing legislation under the Tax Procedures Law and does not apply to a Person participating on a voluntary basis. Its table includes AED 5,000 for each month of delay, or part of a month, where an Issuer fails to implement the system, including failing to appoint an ASP within the Minister's timeline; AED 100 per Electronic Invoice or Electronic Credit Note not issued and transmitted within the timeline, capped at AED 5,000 per calendar month for each; and AED 1,000 per day where the Issuer or Recipient fails to notify its ASP of changes to data registered with the Authority. It enters into force on the day after publication in the Official Gazette; the publication date is unconfirmed. See our penalties guide.

Exchange and data standard terms

These terms come from the MoF eInvoicing programme page and the MoF Guidelines V1.1. They describe how an eInvoice travels and what it contains. Note that V1.1 still cites Decision 64/2025 for ASP accreditation, which Decision 168/2026 has repealed.

5-corner model

The exchange model has five corners: C1 is the supplier, C2 the supplier's ASP, C3 the buyer's ASP, C4 the buyer and C5 the Federal Tax Authority. The MoF programme page calls the model Decentralized Continuous Transaction Control and Exchange (DCTCE). The supplier sends data to its ASP, which validates it and passes it to the buyer's ASP, and the ASPs report Tax Data to the FTA. The Guidelines note that ASPs carry out exchange and reporting in practice, but the compliance obligation stays with the supplier, or with the buyer for self-billing. See our 5-corner model and PINT AE guide.

PINT AE

PINT AE is the UAE data standard for eInvoices, based on Peppol specifications. Under the Guidelines, an eInvoice is exchanged in XML, without a QR code or barcode, and the PINT AE billing specifications set its contents, with UAE requirements defined in the related Data Dictionary. Businesses may not add their own optional fields. The MoF programme page states that PDF, Word, image, scan and email invoices are not eInvoices. We have not reviewed the field count or the mandatory-fields document. Our PINT AE data standard guide gives more detail.

Participant Identifier

The address used to route an eInvoice to a business. Under the Guidelines it is 0235 followed by the 10-digit TIN, and the TIN is the first 10 digits of the TRN; Tax Group members use their own TRN. Predefined endpoints exist for special cases: 0235:9900000098 for a buyer without an identifier, 0235:9900000099 for exports to a buyer without a Peppol ID, and 0235:9900000097 for deemed supplies. How the FTA treats invoices sent to these endpoints is unconfirmed. See our Participant Identifiers guide.

OpenPeppol

The network framework behind the exchange. The MoF programme page states that Peppol enables exchange with businesses outside the UAE. The identifier scheme for foreign buyers is unconfirmed in our sources. See the Participant Identifiers guide.

B2B, B2G and B2C: editorial labels

The following labels are our editorial shorthand. Decision 243/2025 does not define B2B or B2G, and we have not verified a legal definition of B2C.

B2B (business to business)

A sale by one business to another. On our reading it is a Business Transaction of the seller, and Article 4 does not exclude B2B sales as a category.

B2G (business to government)

A sale by a business to a Government Entity. On our reading it is not excluded by Article 4(1)(a), which concerns sovereign transactions conducted by the Government Entity itself, and it is not a B2C sale.

B2C (business to consumer)

The term does appear in the law: Article 5(2) of Decision 244/2025 provides that B2C transactions, and persons engaged exclusively in them, are not subject to the system until a ministerial decision determines otherwise. However, the legal definition of a B2C transaction or of a consumer is unconfirmed in our source review. A business selling to both companies and consumers is not engaged exclusively in B2C. See the B2C exclusion guide.

What this glossary does not settle

  • The legal definition of a B2C transaction or a consumer.
  • How businesses that are not registered for VAT are treated in practice. Article 3 does not mention VAT registration as a condition, but we have not verified FTA guidance on this.
  • The full wording of the Accounting Period, Taxable Person and airline document definitions.
  • The start and end dates of the 24-month Airway Bill period.
  • Exports, imports and other cross-border flows outside the airline items.
  • Which days count as Business Days for the 14 Business Days rule, the number of days in the VAT Law timeline under Article 6(4), and whether Article 6(5) itself covers credit notes.
  • The VAT Executive Regulation conditions for self-billing and how a self-billed document identifies the party it is issued for.
  • The Article 6(6) reporting timeline and any acceptance or rejection step for the Recipient.
  • Which provision now sets the System Failure notification timeline after Article 12 was repealed, and the timeline for notifying an ASP of data changes.
  • The Official Gazette publication date, and so the exact entry-into-force date, of Cabinet Decision 106/2025.
  • The PINT AE field count, the contents of the mandatory-fields document, and how the FTA treats invoices sent to the predefined endpoints.

We leave these marked as unconfirmed rather than filling them with estimates. Use the free eInvoicing readiness check and our key dates summary to plan, and confirm open points with a qualified adviser.

Official sources used in this guide

The terms above come from several decisions, and some of the articles that use them have been amended. Our legislation map and amendment history shows which decision defines or uses each rule and which wording is current. To see these terms applied to practical questions, read our UAE eInvoicing FAQ.

Important notice

This glossary is general information prepared by MINSEONG.COM, an independent website. It is not legal or tax advice, it is not an official government publication, and it does not reproduce or replace the official definitions. The explanations are plain-language paraphrases, statements marked as our reading are editorial interpretations, and the items listed as unconfirmed have not been verified. Decisions 243/2025 and 197/2026 were read on 23 October 2026, Cabinet Decision 106/2025 on 24 October 2026, the MoF Guidelines V1.1 on 24 October 2026, and the other official sources on 22 October 2026; later decisions may change these definitions. Always check the current Ministry of Finance and Federal Tax Authority publications and consult a qualified UAE tax adviser. See all our guides.