Proforma invoice in the UAE: TRN, VAT at 5% and the tax invoice

Proforma invoice or tax invoice?

A UAE tax invoice is a defined document. The Executive Regulation of the VAT law (Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017) requires, among other details, the words “Tax Invoice”, the supplier’s name, address and Tax Registration Number (TRN), the date of issue, a description of the goods or services and the VAT charged, shown in dirhams. Only that document lets a registered buyer recover input VAT.

A proforma invoice is none of this. It prices an offer so that the buyer can approve it, issue a purchase order, pay an advance or apply for a credit. Title it “Proforma invoice”, give it a number series of its own and add a line such as: “This proforma invoice is not a tax invoice.”

What a UAE proforma shows

VAT in the UAE: 5%, one TRN and two thresholds

The standard VAT rate is 5%. A business resident in the UAE must register when its taxable supplies and imports over the previous 12 months exceed AED 375,000, or are expected to exceed it within the next 30 days. It may register voluntarily from AED 187,500. A business and its branches are one taxable person, with a single TRN.

If you are not registered, show no VAT on your proforma and no TRN.

Later, for the tax invoice, a simplified version is allowed when the buyer is not registered, or when the buyer is registered and the amount does not exceed AED 10,000. That rule concerns the tax invoice, not the proforma.

Advance payments: when the tax invoice is due

Under the VAT Decree-Law, the date of supply is the earliest of several events, and receiving payment is one of them. When the buyer pays the advance stated on your proforma, the date of supply for that amount is fixed, and a registered supplier must issue a tax invoice within 14 days. The Ministry of Finance’s e-invoicing guidelines go further and expect the tax invoice when the advance is received.

The usual sequence is: proforma, tax invoice for the advance when the money arrives, then tax invoice for the balance. Contracts with stage payments follow their own date-of-supply rules; check yours with the FTA or a tax adviser. Our guide to proformas for advance payment gives sample wording.

E-invoicing from 2027: what changes

The UAE is moving business-to-business and business-to-government invoices to a structured electronic system, run through accredited service providers. A pilot started on 1 July 2026, and any business may join voluntarily from that date. The calendar set by Ministerial Decision No. 244 of 2025, as amended in 2026:

• Revenue of AED 50 million or more: appoint an accredited service provider by 30 October 2026, go live by 1 January 2027.
• Other businesses: appoint a provider by 31 March 2027, go live by 1 July 2027.
• Government entities: appoint a provider by 31 March 2027, go live by 1 October 2027.

The Ministry defines an e-invoice as structured invoice data exchanged electronically between supplier and buyer. Its e-invoicing page does not mention proformas or quotations: an offer is not an invoice. What moves to the new system are your tax invoices; follow the Ministry’s guidelines as they are updated.

Importing into the UAE: invoice attestation

Since 1 February 2023, commercial invoices for goods imported into the UAE with a value of AED 10,000 or more must be attested electronically by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under Cabinet Resolution No. 38 of 2022. The Ministry lists a fee of AED 150 per invoice, to be paid within 14 days of the bill of entry date; after that, a fine of AED 500 per invoice is added.

This concerns the commercial invoice that comes with the goods, not the proforma. An exporter who sends a clear proforma first, with the same descriptions, quantities and prices, makes the later invoice easier to check. The difference between the two is explained in proforma vs commercial invoice.

Making it with InvoiceProforma

• Choose AED: amounts are calculated with 2 decimals. Switch to USD for an export offer.
• Add your TRN and trade licence number to your company profile as free lines: they print under your address on every PDF.
• Set the document’s tax rate to 5%, or to 0% with the reason in the note.
• Write your bank, IBAN and SWIFT in the footer once.
• Send the PDF by email or WhatsApp.

InvoiceProforma produces PDFs. It is not an accredited e-invoicing service provider: use it for proformas, quotations, purchase orders and delivery notes, and make sure your tax invoices meet the FTA’s rules and, when it applies to you, go through e-invoicing.