E-invoicing and ZATCA
Clearance
Clearance is the Phase 2 process for standard tax invoices: the invoice is sent to ZATCA first and issued to the buyer only after ZATCA accepts it. It applies to sales to businesses and government entities, not to simplified invoices for consumers.
What it means
Think of clearance as a checkpoint before the invoice leaves your hands. Your system builds the invoice, sends it to ZATCA through the Fatoora platform, and waits. Only when ZATCA accepts it can the invoice be issued to your buyer. Until then, the buyer does not receive it. In other words, creating the invoice in your system does not make it ready for the customer; it becomes ready once ZATCA has accepted it.
It matters because invoicing now depends on a working connection and a clean invoice. If something is wrong or missing, ZATCA may not accept the invoice, and you correct it before the buyer gets anything. A rejected invoice is a task for the same day, not for the end of the month. Checking the customer's details before sending therefore becomes a daily habit rather than an exception.
A wholesaler invoicing a chain of supermarkets issues standard tax invoices. The accountant creates the invoice in the office, the system sends it for clearance, and the file goes to the customer only after acceptance. That is why the office needs a working connection at the moment it invoices. The same applies to a branch that issues standard tax invoices to its business customers.
In practice
- Work out whether you sell to businesses or government entities; those invoices are cleared.
- Send the invoice to the buyer only after ZATCA has accepted it.
- Review rejected invoices the same day, fix the cause, and send them again.
- Keep a stable internet connection wherever standard tax invoices are created.
Questions about Clearance
What is the difference between clearance and reporting?
Clearance comes before the buyer gets the invoice: ZATCA must accept a standard tax invoice first. Reporting comes after: a simplified invoice is issued to the consumer at once and then reported to ZATCA within 24 hours. The invoice type, standard or simplified, decides which one applies.
Does a cafe or a shop need clearance?
A business that sells only to consumers issues simplified tax invoices, which are reported rather than cleared. Clearance applies once you issue standard tax invoices, for example when a cafe supplies a catering order to a company or a shop invoices a government entity. Check which invoice types your business really issues.
Issue correct invoices without the guesswork
Try Fatooraz free for 90 days in ZATCA’s simulation environment. No credit card needed.