ZATCA Phase 2 E-Invoicing Integration in Saudi Arabia 2026: The Complete Technical Guide

What is electronic invoicing, the second stage (connection and integration stage) in Saudi Arabia?

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia launched the second phase of the electronic invoicing (Fatora) project, known as the “Integration Phase”. This stage differs radically from the first stage, which was limited to issuing electronic invoices that included a regular quick response code (QR Code) without requiring a connection with the authority’s servers.

In the second phase, all software systems, e-stores and corporate websites became obligated to link their billing solutions directly via application programming interfaces (APIs) with the servers of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority to send and approve invoices instantly in an encrypted format (UBL 2.1 XML).

The two basic types of invoices in the second stage and how to process them programmatically

1. Standard Tax Invoice - B2B

Issued for transactions between companies and commercial establishments (Business-to-Business):

• Instant approval mechanism (Clearance): The invoice must be sent via API to the “Fatora” platform before delivering it to the buyer.
• The authority verifies the authenticity of the invoice, signs it encrypted, and returns it in fractions of a second.
• The invoice is not considered legally valid and the customer cannot deduct the input tax except after obtaining the approval stamp from the Authority.

2. Simplified Tax Invoice - B2C

Issued to the final consumer in electronic stores and retail stores (Business-to-Consumer):

• Subsequent reporting mechanism (Reporting): The invoice is issued immediately after completing the purchase process in the online store and printing the encrypted QR Code.
• The invoice must be sent to the Zakat Authority platform within a maximum period of 24 hours from the time of issuance.

Mandatory engineering and coding requirements for connecting stores

How do we implement ZATCA Phase 2 integration into MTM4WEB for stores and businesses?

At MTM4WEB, we provide advanced connectivity solutions that are 100% compatible with Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority standards for various software platforms:

• For WordPress and WooCommerce stores: An ultra-light custom plugin that does not consume server resources. It generates an XML file in UBL 2.1 format, calculates the encrypted QR Code, and automatically sends the data to the billing platform and stores the response code.
• For custom Laravel platforms and applications: Building an integrated engineering package that supports back-end task queues (Queue Workers / Redis) to ensure that the speed of completing the purchase is not affected by the process of connecting with the authority’s servers.
• Compatibility with local payment gateways: Full integration with approved payment gateways in Saudi Arabia, such as Mada, Tamara, and Tabby, to ensure that payment and tax details are recorded with extreme accounting accuracy.

Browse our specialized services in E-store design and programming and read more about Website design and development in Saudi Arabia, or use Website Cost Calculator To order our e-invoicing integration for your store today.