All About SDK Toolkit: From Setting Up to Implementing e-Invoicing in KSA (Compliance and Enablement Toolbox)

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) has made e-invoicing mandatory under Value Added Tax (VAT) in Saudi Arabia from 4th December 2021. However, every taxpayer needs to be prepared in advance to avoid any non-compliance.

To facilitate the taxpayers with a single toolkit that will check and validate e-invoicing compliance in KSA, ZATCA has launched a Software Development Kit (SDK). This article will explain the SDK toolkit, how it does e-invoicing compliance in KSA and who must use the Compliance and Enablement Toolbox.

What are the Compliance and Enablement Toolbox and SDK toolkit?

The Compliance and Enablement Toolbox SDK is a software toolkit provided by ZATCA for the taxpayers and software developers to ensure their e-invoices are ZATCA regulations compliant.

In other words, the SDK toolkit checks and validates the e-invoices so that the taxpayers can make sure the e-invoice rules in Saudi Arabia are complied with. The toolkit will generate an error message if their e-invoices are not prepared considering KSA e-invoicing compliance.

What does the SDK toolkit do?

The SDK toolkit acts as a standalone application that will run similar validations as ZATCA e-invoicing solutions. It will perform the following tasks:

• Run checks and validations for the compliance of e-invoices, credit and debit notes, XML files
• Validate the QR code generated through the compliance solution
• Check the compliance against the ZATCA e-invoicing standards, specifications, and the regulations 
• Return the validation check with a result either as successful or unsuccessful where successful means the file is ZATCA compliant and unsuccessful means the detection of error that will allow the taxpayer to correct and re-run the validation check

How to access and download the Compliance and Enablement Toolbox SDK? 

There are two options to access and download the Compliance and Enablement Toolbox SDK.

From the ZATCA portal:

Taxpayers, software developers, and solution providers can download the SDK Toolkit from the ZATCA portal.

They can download the toolkit from the ZATCA portal under the ‘System Developers’ menu.

From developer portal:

Taxpayers and developers can download the SDK Toolkit from the developer portal, for which they must be logged in on the developer portal.

The developer portal will have a separate tab for ‘Compliance and Enablement Toolbox SDK page’ from where the taxpayers and developers can access and download the toolkit.

Who must use the Compliance and Enablement Toolbox or SDK Toolkit?

The Compliance and Enablement Toolbox or the SDK toolkit is intended for the following users:

• Taxpayers
• e-Invoicing generation solutions developers
• Taxpayers’ software developers
• Any other individual of relevance

Salient features of the Compliance and Enablement Toolbox or SDK Toolkit

Let’s understand the features of the SDK toolkit to make the most out of it:

Compliance check

The SDK toolkit ensures the standard e-invoices, simplified e-invoices, debit and credit notes, and XML files are compliant with the ZATCA e-invoicing compliance of KSA. Since the compliance check is already done before submitting the document to the ZATCA portal, it reduces the chances of such documents being non-compliant.

Runs a validation check

The application also validates the XML files and QR codes generated after the compliance check to ensure that the XML files and QR codes meet the e-invoicing specifications issued by ZATCA.

Returns with a result

The toolkit also returns a message that the file is successful or unsuccessful. The successful message indicates that the file is compliant in all aspects. At the same time, the unsuccessful message indicates specific errors found in the file that the user must fix before submitting.

Integration with developers’ software

Developers can integrate the application with the compliance solutions to offer a complete solution that will generate the e-invoices, debit and credit notes, and QR codes and ensure that such files are ZATCA regulations compliant.

Easy to download and install

The SDK toolkit is relatively user-friendly. Hence, it gives a hassle-free experience to the users where they can download the application and install the toolkit with a self-explanatory procedure to follow.