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On 24 July 2026, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority announced the selection criteria for ZATCA Wave 25 of the e-invoicing integration phase. Any business whose revenue subject to VAT exceeded SAR 187,500 in 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025 must integrate its e-invoicing solution with the Fatoora platform by 1 February 2027. That threshold brings a large number of small businesses in Saudi Arabia into Phase 2 for the first time.
This guide explains who the wave covers, what the integration phase asks of your invoicing system, and a month-by-month plan to get there without a last-minute rush. Every date and amount below comes from ZATCA's announcement and from the administrative decision published in Umm Al-Qura, and both are linked so you can check them yourself.
What ZATCA announced on 24 July 2026
ZATCA publishes each wave of the integration phase with two numbers: a revenue threshold and an integration date. For Wave 25, the authority said that all taxpayers whose revenues subject to VAT exceeded SAR 187,500 during 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025 must integrate their e-invoicing solutions with the Fatoora platform no later than 1 February 2027. ZATCA also repeated its standing commitment to inform each following wave directly at least six months before its integration date.
The same rule is set out in Administrative Decision No. 1448-99-238, dated 7 Safar 1448 AH and published in the official gazette Umm Al-Qura in the issue dated 10 Safar 1448 AH, which is 24 July 2026. The decision applies to persons registered for VAT before it took effect, whose revenue exceeds SAR 187,500 and who are subject to the E-Invoicing Regulation. It took effect on the day it was published.
| Item | Wave 25 detail |
|---|---|
| Announcement date | 24 July 2026 |
| Revenue test | Revenue subject to VAT above SAR 187,500 |
| Years checked | 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025 (any one year is enough) |
| Integration deadline | 1 February 2027 |
| Legal basis | Administrative Decision No. 1448-99-238, Umm Al-Qura |
| Notice for later waves | At least six months before the integration date |
Sources: the ZATCA announcement of Wave 25 and the decision as published in Umm Al-Qura.
Who is in scope for ZATCA Wave 25
The test is simple but easy to misread. Look at your VAT returns for each of the four years from 2022 to 2025 and find your total revenue subject to VAT. If that figure exceeded SAR 187,500 in any one of those years, you are in Wave 25. It does not matter if your revenue stayed below the line in the other years, or if it is lower today.
A few points settle the usual edge cases:
- The test is per year, not cumulative. A business with SAR 120,000 in 2022 and SAR 200,000 in 2024 is in scope because of 2024 alone.
- Revenue subject to VAT is what counts. Use the figure you report in your VAT return, and ask your accountant if a large part of your sales is exempt.
- Earlier waves keep their dates. The decision expressly takes the earlier integration decisions into account. If ZATCA already placed you in an earlier wave, your original date stands.
- The decision covers taxpayers registered before it took effect. Businesses that registered for VAT later will be covered by future waves, which ZATCA announces with at least six months' notice.
If you are unsure, the safest course is to prepare as though you are in scope. ZATCA also notifies targeted taxpayers directly, so watch the email address and mobile number registered on your ZATCA account.
What the integration phase requires
E-invoicing in Saudi Arabia arrived in two phases. Phase 1, the generation phase, started on 4 December 2021 and required every VAT-registered business to issue and store invoices electronically, with a QR code on simplified invoices. Phase 2, the integration phase, started on 1 January 2023 and has been rolled out in waves since then. ZATCA describes it as three added obligations: integrate your e-invoicing solution with the Fatoora platform, issue e-invoices in a specific format, and include additional fields in each invoice.
In day-to-day terms, this changes how an invoice leaves your system:
- Standard tax invoices, issued to other businesses, are sent to Fatoora for clearance before you share them with the customer.
- Simplified tax invoices, issued to consumers, go to the customer first and are reported to Fatoora within 24 hours.
- Every invoice is produced as XML in the format ZATCA uses, carries a cryptographic stamp, and includes fields that Phase 1 did not require.
- Credit and debit notes follow the same rules as the invoice they relate to.
Spreadsheets and basic invoice templates cannot do this. You need an e-invoicing solution that registers its units with ZATCA, holds the cryptographic stamp and talks to the Fatoora platform. For many Wave 25 businesses, this is the first time their software has to do anything beyond printing a PDF.
A month-by-month plan to 1 February 2027
There are fewer than four months between now and the deadline, with the year end and the busy season for many trades in between. The table below spreads the work so that nothing lands in the last week of January.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| October 2026 | Confirm scope from your 2022 to 2025 VAT returns. Decide whether your current system can integrate or whether you need a new one. |
| November 2026 | Choose and set up the solution. Clean your customer records, VAT numbers and addresses, because the Phase 2 XML needs them. |
| December 2026 | Test in ZATCA's simulation environment with sample standard and simplified invoices, credit notes and rejected documents. |
| January 2027 | Onboard your production units on the Fatoora portal, train the staff who issue invoices, and keep the old process as a fallback for a week. |
| 1 February 2027 | Every invoice goes through Fatoora. Review rejections daily for the first month. |
If your business sells through several branches or point-of-sale devices, add time. Each device or system that issues invoices is a separate e-invoicing unit and needs its own onboarding.
Common mistakes Wave 25 businesses make
Smaller businesses meet Phase 2 with a smaller team and less lead time than the early waves had. The same problems come up again and again:
- Reading the threshold against the current year only. The decision looks back to 2022. A business that has shrunk since then is still in scope.
- Waiting for the ZATCA notification. The announcement and the gazetted decision are already the legal basis. The direct notice is a reminder, not the start of your obligation.
- Buying a tool that only prints a QR code. That was Phase 1. Phase 2 needs clearance and reporting through Fatoora.
- Leaving onboarding to the last week. Each unit has its own steps on the Fatoora portal. Give the whole process a month.
- Not training the people who actually issue invoices. Sales staff and cashiers must know what a rejected invoice looks like and who fixes it.
How Daftarix handles Wave 25
Daftarix is built for both phases of e-invoicing. Each simplified tax invoice carries a QR code, and in Phase 2 every invoice is produced in the XML format ZATCA uses, in UBL 2.1, and signed with a cryptographic stamp. Standard invoices are cleared through the Fatoora platform before they reach the customer, and simplified invoices are reported within 24 hours. The full detail is on our ZATCA e-invoicing software page.
Two things matter most for a small business joining in Wave 25. First, invoices start in the sales pipeline: a quotation in the CRM carries the customer, the line items and the agreed prices straight into the invoice, so nobody retypes amounts. Second, documents come out in Arabic, right to left, or in English, from the same customer record, in Saudi riyals with VAT at 15%. Your support team can also see each invoice and its payment status next to the customer's tickets.
If you are new to the whole programme, our guide to ZATCA e-invoicing in Saudi Arabia, Phase 1, Phase 2 and Fatoora explains the invoice types and the required fields in more depth.
Frequently asked questions
Is the SAR 187,500 threshold based on one year or all four years together?
One year. If your revenue subject to VAT exceeded SAR 187,500 in 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025, you are in Wave 25, even if the other years were lower.
What happens on 1 February 2027?
From that date, businesses in Wave 25 must issue e-invoices through a solution integrated with the Fatoora platform. Standard invoices need clearance before they are shared with the customer, and simplified invoices must be reported within 24 hours.
I am already in an earlier wave. Does Wave 25 change my date?
No. Earlier wave decisions keep their original integration dates. Wave 25 only adds taxpayers who were not covered before.
Where can I read the official text?
The announcement is on zatca.gov.sa and the administrative decision is published in Umm Al-Qura. Both are linked in this article. If a figure here ever differs from those pages, the official pages prevail.
How long does Fatoora integration take?
With a solution that already supports Phase 2, most small businesses need a few weeks for data clean-up, testing and onboarding. Starting in October leaves room for the year-end rush.
Ready to meet the 1 February 2027 deadline with time to spare? Book a demo and we will show you how Daftarix issues, clears and reports your invoices.
