The Deadline Is Here, Not Coming
June 30, 2026 Deadline
Saudi Arabia’s e-invoicing mandate has been expanding wave by wave since 2023, moving steadily down the revenue scale. Wave 24 marks its most significant expansion yet — and if your business is in scope, the compliance window is closing fast.
Wave 24 marks a significant milestone in the Saudi Arabia e-invoicing mandate. For the first time, the revenue threshold has dropped to SAR 375,000, pulling thousands of SMEs into the mandatory Phase 2 scope that was previously limited to larger enterprises.
ZATCA will notify all targeted taxpayers in the Wave 24 cohort to integrate their e-invoicing solutions with the Fatoora Platform by no later than June 30, 2026. The compliance window officially opened April 1, 2026. Time to act is now, not later.
Are You in Scope for Wave 24?
VAT-registered businesses with a turnover of between SAR 375,000 and SAR 750,000 during 2022, 2023, or 2024 fall under Wave 24 of Phase 2 and must integrate with the Fatoora portal by June 30, 2026.
If your business generated VAT-taxable revenue exceeding SAR 375,000 in any of those three years, you are very likely within scope. The scale of businesses affected is substantial ZATCA processed over 8.2 billion e-invoices in 2025, marking a 64% surge from the previous year.
Phase 2 Is Not an Accounting Update — It’s an IT Overhaul
This is where many businesses underestimate what’s required. Phase 1 simply mandated the generation of digital invoices. Phase 2 is fundamentally different.
Phase 2 of the Fatoora programme takes the Kingdom’s digital invoicing framework well beyond simple generation and storage. Businesses in scope must not only issue electronic invoices that meet ZATCA’s technical standards, but must also integrate their billing software with ZATCA’s systems in real time.
In practical terms, your ERP or POS system needs to be able to generate invoices in XML or PDF/A-3 format with embedded XML, implement cryptographic stamps and unique identifiers (UUIDs), submit B2B invoices to ZATCA’s Fatoora platform for clearance before they are sent to the buyer, and report B2C simplified invoices within 24 hours of issuance.
This requires technical preparation, not just software updates. Many certified solution providers are already operating at capacity as the deadline approaches.
A Temporary Window: The Penalty Waiver Ends June 30
There is one piece of good news — but it comes with the same deadline. ZATCA has extended its “Initiative to Cancel Fines and Exempt Taxpayers from Penalties” until June 30, 2026, offering a final opportunity for businesses to integrate and correct past errors without financial penalties.
After that date, the full penalty framework comes into force. Non-compliance penalties range from SAR 5,000 to SAR 50,000 per violation. Without an integrated and certified system, you also cannot issue legally valid invoices in Saudi Arabia — which means your cash flow stops entirely until compliance is restored.
What Happens After Wave 24?
Wave 24 is not the end of the rollout. Every VAT-registered business in Saudi Arabia will eventually fall within the scope of the Fatoora mandate. ZATCA has consistently expanded the programme in successive waves since Phase 2 enforcement began in January 2023, with each round capturing a new cohort of taxpayers based on annual revenue thresholds.
If you are not in Wave 24, you will be in a future wave. The right time to prepare is before your notification arrives not after.
Need to Get Compliant Before June 30?
ZATCA’s technical requirements are specific, the certification process takes time, and the deadline is firm. Businesses that start the process in May or June risk missing the window entirely.
At Safari Star | Global Business Services, we help businesses navigate ZATCA compliance from eligibility assessment through to Fatoora go-live — without the technical guesswork.
Safari Star supports you with: ZATCA Wave 24 API integration · ERP and POS compliance auditing · Fatoora Sandbox testing and certification · Penalty waiver and back-compliance support · End-to-end ZATCA regulatory guidance
Whether you are starting from scratch or mid-way through an integration that has stalled, Safari Star gives you the technical expertise and regulatory knowledge to hit the June 30 deadline with confidence.
👉 Contact Safari Star today and achieve ZATCA compliance before the window closes.