UAE e-invoicing · PINT AE
PINT AE explained: the UAE e-invoice data standard
Checked on 6 November 2026 against the Ministry of Finance guidelines and mandatory fields list (v1.1, 28 October 2026) and the OpenPeppol specification site.
What PINT AE is
Peppol is an international network and set of standards for exchanging business documents. PINT, short for Peppol International, is a common invoice model that each country can extend with its own rules. PINT AE is the UAE extension. The Ministry of Finance describes it as a family of specifications for e-invoices and e-credit notes, customised to UAE requirements while staying interoperable with other Peppol countries.
OpenPeppol publishes the technical specification on docs.peppol.eu. The current release when we checked was PINT AE Billing version 1.0.4, released on 29 July 2026. The UAE's own requirements are set out in the Ministry's data dictionary, guidelines and mandatory fields list.
Your finance team does not need to read XML. It needs to know which business data must exist in the ERP, in the right shape, before an invoice can pass validation.
The 5-corner model in one paragraph each
Corners 1 and 2. You, the supplier, send invoice data to your ASP in an agreed format. Your ASP validates it and converts it into the UAE standard XML invoice if needed.
Corners 3 and 4. Your ASP sends the invoice to the buyer's ASP, which validates it, confirms receipt and delivers it to the buyer.
Corner 5. Both ASPs report the tax data to the Federal Tax Authority. The FTA confirms receipt back through the ASPs. If the buyer's ASP rejects the invoice, it reports no tax data and tells your ASP and the FTA.
This is why the UAE model is called decentralised continuous transaction control. The authority gets the data in near real time, but it never sits between you and your customer.
What a UAE tax e-invoice must contain
The Ministry's mandatory fields document lists 51 fields for an electronic tax invoice. At a business level they fall into six groups.
| Group | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Invoice details | Number, date, type code, currency, payment due date, payment means, and an eight-flag transaction type code: free zone, deemed supply, margin scheme, summary invoice, continuous supply, disclosed agent billing, e-commerce and exports |
| Seller | Legal name, electronic address (the 10-digit TIN), the fixed identifier 0235, legal registration number and type (TL trade licence, EID, PAS passport or CD Cabinet Decision), TRN, address, emirate and country |
| Buyer | Name, electronic address and identifier, TRN, address, emirate and country |
| Totals | Sum of line net amounts, totals with and without tax, tax total and amount due |
| Tax breakdown | Taxable amount, tax amount, tax category code and rate for each category used |
| Lines | Line ID, quantity, unit of measure code, net amount, net and gross price, price base quantity, tax category and rate, VAT line amount in AED, line amount in AED, item name and description |
A commercial invoice, meaning one that is not a tax invoice, has its own slightly shorter list. It is also in scope: the guidelines say PDF or paper commercial invoices must be replaced too.
How PINT AE relates to your ERP
PINT AE is a data contract, not software. Your ERP holds the customers, products, tax settings and invoices. A connector sends that data to your ASP, which produces the PINT AE XML. If the data is wrong in the ERP, the XML is wrong, and validation fails.
So the work splits into three parts. First, make the ERP hold every mandatory field. Second, map those fields to the ASP's format. Third, test real scenarios end to end. Odoo, NetSuite, SAP Business One, Dynamics 365 Business Central and Zoho can all carry the data, but none of them fills it in for you. Our post on master data cleanup shows where to start.
The data problems we see most
TRN and TIN. Your Peppol endpoint is 0235 plus your 10-digit TIN, which is the first 10 digits of your TRN. In a VAT group, each member uses its own TRN, not the representative's. Customer TRNs held as free text, with spaces or old numbers, fail.
Tax categories. The guidelines define six: standard rate, exempt, out of scope, reverse charge, zero rated and margin scheme. Many ERPs only distinguish 5% and 0%. Exempt, out-of-scope and zero-rated are different codes, and domestic reverse charge applies only to specific goods named in Cabinet decisions, such as electronic devices, precious metals and metal scrap.
Units of measure. The unit must be a code, such as KG. Labels like "pcs", "box" or "lot" typed by users need mapping to recognised codes, and price base quantity must match.
Credit notes. Corrections go out as electronic credit notes that reference the original invoice. One credit note can reference several invoices and can be partial. Editing or deleting a posted invoice in the ERP is not a correction.
Foreign currency. The VAT line amount and line amount must also be stated in AED, whatever the invoice currency.
Exports and free zones. If an overseas buyer has no Peppol ID, the guidelines give a predefined endpoint, 0235:9900000099. Where the customer is a free zone entity, the invoice also needs beneficiary details. See our post on free zone companies.
Rounding. Rounding applies at invoice total level to two decimals, not per line or per tax category.
Where to go next
Read our plain-language Peppol 5-corner model explainer, check the official ASP list, and understand the penalties for late implementation. Kaido maps your ERP to PINT AE as part of our e-invoicing readiness review; the 2-minute check tells you where you stand.
Frequently asked questions
What does PINT AE stand for?
Peppol International, UAE. It is the UAE extension of the Peppol International invoice model, defining the data and rules for UAE e-invoices and e-credit notes.
How many mandatory fields does a UAE e-invoice have?
The Ministry of Finance mandatory fields document, version 1.1 of 28 October 2026, lists 51 mandatory fields for an electronic tax invoice. Commercial invoices have a separate list.
What is the Peppol endpoint for a UAE business?
The scheme identifier 0235 followed by the business's 10-digit Tax Identification Number, which is the first 10 digits of its TRN. The ASP registers the endpoint.
Does my ERP need to produce PINT AE XML itself?
Not necessarily. Your ASP can convert data from an agreed format into the UAE standard XML. Your ERP must still hold every mandatory field correctly.
How are invoice corrections handled under PINT AE?
With electronic credit notes that reference the original invoice, sent through the same ASP. A credit note can be partial and can reference several invoices.
Who publishes the PINT AE specification?
OpenPeppol publishes the technical specification on docs.peppol.eu. The Ministry of Finance publishes the UAE data dictionary, guidelines and mandatory fields list.
Related reading
Sources
- UAE Electronic Invoice Mandatory Fields, v1.1, 28 Oct 2026 (PDF)
- UAE Electronic Invoicing Guidelines, Ministry of Finance (5-corner flow, tax categories, constraints)
- OpenPeppol: PINT AE Billing version 1.0.4
- Ministry of Finance eInvoicing page
Last checked 6 November 2026 against the Ministry of Finance.
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