Validating Client Data Before Sending an Invoice to ZATCA

The system automatically validates the client’s identification and address details before sending any invoice to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), ensuring that every submission complies with the Authority’s requirements without blocking valid invoices due to non-mandatory details.

Before you Start

This feature applies only to accounts located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, provided that e-invoicing is already enabled and connected to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).

Steps

When sending an invoice to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (automatically or manually), the system validates the data in the following order before completing the submission:

1. Automatically determine the Client Type (Business or Individual) from the client selected on the invoice.
2. Check whether the identification details required for that type are available.
3. Validate the format of address fields only when they are provided.
4. Check for any existing edit restrictions on the invoice.
5. Submit the invoice to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority.

How the System Works

Valid identification rules for each client type:

Business clients (establishments): The client must have a valid VAT Registration Number or a valid Commercial Registration (C.R / Unified Number)—either one alone is now sufficient, and having both does not cause any issues.

The Business Name and Country remain required at all times.

Individual clients: They do not need a Commercial Registration or VAT Registration Number. They can be identified using either a National ID (10 digits) or a Tax ID (TIN) (15 digits)—both are accepted. If both the customer record and the invoice contain a National ID number, priority is given to the customer data recorded on the invoice. A non-Saudi individual (foreigner) is completely exempt from commercial registration requirements.

Reducing blocking of valid invoices:

The Building Number and Postal Code are no longer mandatory for invoice submission; their format is validated only when provided, and their absence no longer prevents submission.

Invoices for clients outside Saudi Arabia are no longer blocked due to Saudi national address requirements; only the Street, City, and Country fields are required for these clients.

Clients addresses are automatically normalized before submission by removing hidden formatting or directional characters and unusual whitespace. Strict address character validation patterns have also been relaxed, reducing the incorrect rejection of addresses that are actually valid.

ZATCA warnings:

When ZATCA returns a warning on an invoice, the warning is now displayed directly to the user, with a clear indication that the invoice is valid and that these are warnings issued by the ZATCA portal itself, not errors from Daftra. Only current warnings (from 12 July 2026 onward) are displayed, and messages are available in both Arabic and English.

Protecting already validated e-invoices:

Once an invoice has been successfully submitted to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, any edits that could invalidate the submitted document are blocked (partial edit), including changes to the client’s identification details on that invoice.

POS invoices:

POS invoices are always saved, even when the client data is insufficient for submission to ZATCA. When data is missing, a shortcut appears on the invoice that opens the client edit page (while retaining the invoice context) to complete the data and resubmit. (For non-POS invoices, this shortcut instead points to the invoice’s inline client panel within the invoice itself.)

Bulk import:

Client import validates the Commercial Registration, VAT Registration Number, and National ID according to the client type, while invoice import uses the imported client’s information. Imported records that fail validation are not submitted to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority; successfully imported records can be submitted normally.

Validation Rules

• The Client Type (Business or Individual) must be selected before proceeding; if it is not selected, the process is blocked and the user is asked to select a client type.
• Saudi business clients: At least one VAT Registration Number or Commercial Registration / Unified Number must be provided.
• Non-Saudi business clients: A Buyer ID must be provided.
• Individual clients: No identification number is required (National ID or Tax ID is optional).
• Address fields are format-validated only when provided; Saudi-specific fields are skipped for buyers outside Saudi Arabia.
• If an address field fails format validation, the submission is blocked and the flagged field must be corrected (for POS: a link to the client edit page is displayed).
• Submission is also blocked if the invoice has existing edit restrictions (credit note, refund, installment, closed period, POS shift, etc.).
• After successful submission, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority response is classified as: Accepted without warning (the invoice is valid and submitted, and edits are now protected), Accepted with warning (the invoice is valid, and a warning from the Authority’s portal is displayed to the user), or Rejected (the Authority’s error is displayed, and the invoice remains available for correction).