VAT invoices for a phone shop: what has to be on them in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt

This guide summarises the published requirements as we understand them in November 2026. Rules change, and your own situation may differ: confirm with your tax adviser or the tax authority before relying on it.

First: are you registered?

You may only charge VAT if you are registered for it and have a tax registration number (TRN in the UAE, VAT number in Saudi Arabia). An unregistered shop issues an ordinary invoice with no VAT on it. Charging VAT without a registration isn't a paperwork slip; it's an offence.

United Arab Emirates

A full tax invoice, which you must issue to a VAT-registered customer and usually issue to everyone, shows:

• the words "Tax Invoice" clearly on it;
• your shop's name, address and TRN;
• the customer's name and address, and their TRN if they are registered;
• a sequential invoice number and the date of issue (and the date of supply if different);
• a description of each service, part and item sold, the quantity, the unit price, and any discount;
• the VAT rate and the VAT amount on each line or in total, and the total VAT in AED;
• the total payable.

Amounts can be shown in another currency as well, but the VAT must also be stated in dirhams.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has two forms, and which one you issue depends on the customer:

• Tax invoice (standard), for a customer that is a VAT-registered business: it carries the customer's name, address and VAT number as well as yours.
• Simplified tax invoice, for everyone else, including individuals and businesses that aren't registered. It can leave out the customer's details.

Both must be titled as what they are, carry your name and VAT number, a sequential number, the date and time, the lines with their VAT, and the totals. Since December 2021 (ZATCA's phase one), invoices must also be electronic, from a system, not handwritten or typed in a word processor, and they must carry a QR code.

What the phase-one QR code holds

Five things, encoded together: the seller's name, the seller's VAT number, the date and time of the invoice, the total including VAT, and the VAT amount. A customer or an inspector scans it to check that the printed figures match.

Phase two

Phase two (integration) requires invoices to be cleared or reported to ZATCA's platform in real time, in a set format, with a cryptographic stamp. ZATCA brings businesses into it in waves by revenue, and tells each wave in advance. Check whether and when your shop has been notified.

Egypt

A registered shop in Egypt charges VAT on its invoices, at a standard rate of 14%. The Egyptian Tax Authority has also been bringing businesses into its electronic systems in stages: the e-invoice for sales to other businesses and the e-receipt for sales to consumers. Ask your accountant whether your shop has been brought in, and from which date.

What a phone shop adds to the invoice

None of this is a tax rule. It is what stops arguments later:

• On a phone you sell: the brand, model and storage, and the IMEI. It ties the invoice to that one phone when the buyer comes back with a warranty claim or a return.
• On a repair: the device and its IMEI, the service and the part as separate lines, and your warranty in days from the day of hand-over.
• On a used phone: the word "used", its grade and the warranty you give on it.

Used phones and trade-ins: ask before you sell

Some countries have a margin scheme for second-hand goods. Under such a scheme VAT is worked out on the difference between what you paid for the item and what you sold it for, not on the full selling price, and only when certain conditions are met. Whether a scheme like that exists where you are, whether it covers phones, and whether it covers a phone you bought from a private person all differ by country and change over time.

Don't assume either way. Take these questions to your accountant before you sell the first used phone:

• Do I charge VAT on the full price of a used phone, or on my margin?
• What records of the purchase do I have to keep: the seller's details, the price, the IMEI?
• What wording has to appear on the invoice for a used phone?
• On a trade-in, is the old phone a separate purchase or may it be shown as a reduction in the price of the new one? The two give different VAT.

Mistakes we see most

• Invoice numbers that skip or restart each year without a rule, or two branches using the same numbers.
• VAT charged before the registration came through, or a TRN typed with a digit missing.
• A Saudi "tax invoice" issued to a person (it should be simplified), or a simplified one to a registered company that needs the full form to reclaim its VAT.
• A discount taken off the total after VAT was worked out, so the VAT on the invoice is wrong.
• Credit given by editing the old invoice instead of issuing a credit note.
• A repair billed as one line, "repair 350", with no part and no service named.

How SolderDesk handles it

Set your country and registration number once. SolderDesk then refuses VAT if there's no registration number, titles each invoice by the customer's tax type (tax invoice or simplified in Saudi Arabia), numbers invoices in sequence per your own rule, adds the phase-one QR code on Saudi invoices, and issues credit notes rather than edits. The VAT return helper adds up the period for you. A phone sold from stock prints its IMEI and its warranty on the invoice, and a repair invoice carries the repair warranty.

Sending invoices to ZATCA's platform (phase two) and to Egypt's e-invoice and e-receipt systems is not offered yet. How your used phones are to be taxed is a decision for you and your accountant. See a sample invoice in the free trial.