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Saudi Arabia e-Invoicing: Phase I QR Code vs. Phase II QR Code

Updated on: May 2nd, 2023

4 min read

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Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority (ZATCA) (earlier known as GAZT) has implemented Phase I of e-invoicing in Saudi Arabia (SA) from 4th December, 2021. Also, they plan to implement Phase II from 1st January 2023. In the e-invoicing resolution, ZATCA mentioned that all the e-invoicing applicable taxpayers must generate Quick Response (QR) codes and print them on invoices.

ZATCA clarified that QR code is optional for B2B invoices during Phase I and mandatory during Phase II. However, it is mandatory for B2C invoices in both phases. The fields of a QR code differ based on the type of invoice.

So, to give you a summarised view of the applicability of the QR code fields, we have listed them based on the type of invoice and the phase of e-invoicing.

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What is an e-invoice QR code?

A QR code is a type of matrix barcode with a pattern of black and white squares and should be readable by a QR code scanner or the camera of smart devices. However, the e-invoice QR code contains basic invoice data, which can be readable only using the ZATCA app, as explained at the end of this article.

Phase I QR Code vs. Phase II QR Code

The below table summarises the applicability of QR code fields:

QR code fields	Tax Invoices (B2B & B2G transactions)		Simplified Tax Invoices (B2C transactions)
	Phase I	Phase II	Phase I	Phase II
Seller’s name	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
VAT registration number of the seller	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Timestamp of the electronic invoice or credit/debit note (date and time)	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Electronic invoice or credit/debit note total (with VAT)	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
VAT total	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Hash of XML electronic invoice or credit/debit note	Optional	Mandatory	NA	Mandatory
Cryptographic stamps generated by ZATCA’s platform for integrated tax invoices and associated credit/debit notes	NA	Mandatory	NA	NA
Cryptographic stamp generated by the taxpayer’s e-Invoice generating solution	NA	NA	NA	Mandatory
The public key of the ZATCA platform, which is used to generate the cryptographic stamp	NA	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
The public key of the e-invoice generating solution, which is used to generate the cryptographic stamp	NA	NA	Mandatory	Mandatory

(NA stands for Not Applicable)

How to verify the validity of e-invoice in KSA?

The QR code must be present in the human-readable format on the printed invoice to validate it. Accordingly, ZATCA released a mobile application (app) to verify the authenticity of the e-invoices generated by sellers.

You can go through our article on validating QR codes on ZATCA invoices to know the steps to download and use the VAT app and how to use it.

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