Saudi Arabia · Guide
ZATCA e-invoicing for limousine and chauffeur companies in Saudi Arabia
A plain-language guide to ZATCA e-invoicing (Fatoora) for limousine, chauffeur and passenger transport operators in the Kingdom: what the two phases ask for, how a trip invoice is cleared or reported, and what MobilityDrive does. General information only, not tax advice.
What does ZATCA e-invoicing mean for a limousine company?
It means every tax invoice, credit note and debit note for your trips has to be created and stored electronically in a set format, and, once ZATCA has brought your company into Phase 2, sent to ZATCA's Fatoora platform from a system that is registered with it. Invoices to other businesses are cleared by ZATCA before they reach the client. Simplified invoices to individual passengers are handed over at once and reported afterwards. A handwritten or word-processed invoice does not count.
The two phases of e-invoicing in Saudi Arabia
The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) describes e-invoicing as a procedure that converts the issuing of paper invoices and notes into an electronic process, and it brought the requirement in as two phases. Phase 1, the generation phase, began on 4 December 2021: taxpayers must generate and store invoices and notes electronically, with the required fields and a QR code on simplified invoices. Phase 2, the integration phase, began on 1 January 2023 and adds a technical link to ZATCA's Fatoora platform.
Phase 2 does not start for everyone on one date. ZATCA brings taxpayers in by waves, chosen by the revenue subject to VAT in earlier years, and it notifies each group ahead of its date. As an example, ZATCA's announcement of the twenty-fourth wave covers taxpayers whose revenue subject to VAT exceeded SAR 375,000, with integration due no later than 30 June 2026. Later waves have been announced since, with lower thresholds, so a small limousine operator should check ZATCA's announcements and its own notification, not assume it is outside the scope.
Standard and simplified tax invoices on chauffeur and transfer work
Two kinds of document matter. A standard tax invoice is issued to another business or a government body, for example a hotel, a travel agency or a corporate account, and it carries the buyer's details and VAT number. Under Phase 2 a standard invoice is sent to ZATCA for clearance first: the platform validates it and applies its stamp, and only the cleared invoice is given to the client. A simplified tax invoice is issued to an individual passenger. It is handed to the passenger straight away with its QR code and is reported to ZATCA within 24 hours.
A limousine company usually issues both in the same week: monthly invoices to corporate and hotel accounts, and simplified invoices for walk-in or app passengers. Credit notes and debit notes follow the same route as the invoice they correct, so a refund for a cancelled transfer is a credit note that is itself cleared or reported, not an edited invoice.
In plain words
What Phase 2 asks your invoicing system to do
| Requirement | What it means | What MobilityDrive does |
|---|---|---|
| Structured invoice | The invoice exists as structured data in the required XML format, not only as a PDF | Builds the document for each invoice, credit note and debit note of a Saudi company |
| Identity of the system | Your invoicing system is registered with ZATCA and holds a cryptographic certificate | Registers a device for your company with your own ZATCA credentials during onboarding |
| Hash, counter and signature | Each document is chained to the previous one and signed so it cannot be changed unnoticed | Signs each document and keeps the chain |
| QR code | A QR code with the seller, VAT number, time, totals and signature data | Prints the QR code on the invoice |
| Clearance or reporting | Standard invoices are cleared before they are shared; simplified invoices are reported within 24 hours | Sends the document to ZATCA and holds a business invoice's email until it is cleared |
| Records | Documents are stored and can be produced on request | Keeps each document with its status and ZATCA's response |
What MobilityDrive does for ZATCA, and how far it has been proven
A company set to Saudi Arabia in MobilityDrive invoices in SAR with 15% VAT and its VAT number. The ZATCA Phase 2 integration signs each document, produces the QR code and sends it to ZATCA for clearance or reporting, for invoices and for credit and debit notes. Scheduled monthly invoicing knows the rule as well: if a company has no ZATCA device registered, the run leaves the invoices as drafts instead of issuing something that could not be signed and reported.
Here is the limit. The integration is built and passes ZATCA's developer sandbox. Onboarding to ZATCA's live environment is done per customer, with that customer's own ZATCA credentials, and we do it with you. MobilityDrive does not claim ZATCA certification or approval, and nothing on this page should be read that way. The wider Saudi setup, including Arabic screens, right-to-left documents, Saudi vehicle and driver documents and the payroll pack, is on the chauffeur and fleet software for Saudi Arabia page.
A checklist before your wave date
First, confirm your wave: read the notification ZATCA sent you and the current announcements on its website. Second, make sure your VAT registration details, national address and commercial registration are exactly as ZATCA holds them, because they are printed on every document. Third, decide who in your company will hold the Fatoora portal access used to register the invoicing system. Fourth, clean your client list: every business client needs its legal name, address and VAT number before a standard invoice to it can be cleared. Fifth, run a test month: raise real duties as invoices in the test environment and check the totals against your books.
If your limousine company bills trips from duty slips, the invoice is only as good as the duty behind it. The flow from the duty slip to the invoice is described on the transport billing software page, the chauffeur side on the chauffeur and limousine software page, and our article on how to invoice transport and chauffeur trips compares the Saudi and Indian rules.
Official sources
- ZATCA: E-invoicing (Fatoora) overview and phases
The authority's own description of e-invoicing, the two phases and their start dates.
- ZATCA: announcement of the twenty-fourth wave of Phase 2
An example of how waves are set: the revenue threshold and the integration deadline.
This page is general information written in October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice. ZATCA's regulations, technical specifications and wave announcements are the authority, and they change: confirm what applies to your company with ZATCA or your tax adviser.
ZATCA e-invoicing for limousine companies: frequently asked questions
Do limousine and chauffeur companies in Saudi Arabia need ZATCA e-invoicing?
- A limousine or chauffeur company that is subject to VAT in Saudi Arabia must issue its tax invoices and notes electronically. Whether Phase 2 integration applies yet depends on the wave ZATCA has placed the company in, which is set by its revenue subject to VAT, so check the notification ZATCA sent you.
What is the difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2?
- Phase 1, from 4 December 2021, requires invoices to be generated and stored electronically with the required fields. Phase 2, from 1 January 2023 and rolled out in waves, requires the invoicing system to be integrated with ZATCA's Fatoora platform so documents are cleared or reported.
Does an invoice to a hotel or corporate client need clearance?
- Yes, once you are in Phase 2. An invoice to another business is a standard tax invoice, and it is sent to ZATCA for clearance before it is given to the client. An invoice to an individual passenger is a simplified tax invoice, which is handed over immediately and reported within 24 hours.
Is MobilityDrive certified by ZATCA?
- No. We do not claim certification. The ZATCA Phase 2 integration is built and passes ZATCA's developer sandbox. Onboarding to the live environment is done with each customer using that customer's own credentials.
Can MobilityDrive send credit notes for cancelled transfers to ZATCA?
- Yes. Credit and debit notes for a Saudi company are signed and sent to ZATCA in the same way as invoices, and each one refers to the invoice it corrects.
Is this page tax advice?
- No. It is general information for transport operators. Your obligations depend on your registration and your wave, so confirm them with ZATCA or your tax adviser.
See a trip become a ZATCA document
We will show a Saudi invoice signed and sent in ZATCA's sandbox, and walk through what live onboarding needs from you.