Glossary
UAE e-invoicing glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms you will meet in the UAE e-invoicing mandate, from PINT AE and Peppol to Accredited Service Providers and the 5-corner model. Each entry explains what the term means and why it matters to a UAE business. Written by Ravera, an FTA-Accredited Service Provider.
5-corner model
The 5-corner model is how UAE e-invoices travel. The supplier’s ERP (corner 1) sends the invoice to the supplier’s ASP (corner 2), which exchanges it over Peppol with the buyer’s ASP (corner 3), which delivers it to the buyer’s ERP (corner 4). The FTA (corner 5) receives tax data in near real time.
Read definitionAccredited Service Provider (ASP)
An Accredited Service Provider (ASP) is a company accredited by the UAE Ministry of Finance to exchange e-invoices on behalf of businesses. It converts invoices to PINT AE XML, validates them, sends and receives them over Peppol, and reports tax data to the Federal Tax Authority.
Read definitionCentral Data Platform
The Central Data Platform is the FTA system that receives tax data reported by Accredited Service Providers for each e-invoice. It gives the FTA a near real-time view of invoiced transactions, without the invoices themselves being routed through a government platform.
Read definitionContinuous transaction controls (CTC)
Continuous transaction controls (CTC) are tax systems in which invoice data reaches the tax authority at, or close to, the time a transaction happens, rather than in a periodic return filed weeks later. The UAE e-invoicing model includes near real-time reporting of invoice tax data to the FTA.
Read definitionDCTCE
DCTCE (Decentralised Continuous Transaction Control and Exchange) is the name for the UAE e-invoicing model. Invoices are exchanged between businesses through Accredited Service Providers over Peppol, rather than through a central government platform, while tax data is reported to the FTA in near real time.
Read definitionE-invoice
Under the UAE mandate, an e-invoice is a structured invoice in PINT AE XML format, exchanged between businesses through Accredited Service Providers over the Peppol network. A PDF, a scanned document or an emailed image is not an e-invoice in this sense.
Read definitionFederal Tax Authority (FTA)
The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) is the UAE government body that administers federal taxes, including VAT. Under the e-invoicing mandate, the FTA receives tax data from each e-invoice through Accredited Service Providers, in near real time, as the fifth corner of the exchange model.
Read definitionOpenPeppol
OpenPeppol is the international non-profit association that governs the Peppol network. It maintains the Peppol specifications, including BIS Billing 3.0 and the PINT framework, and sets the rules that Access Points and Peppol Authorities must follow.
Read definitionPeppol
Peppol is an international network and set of specifications for exchanging business documents such as invoices between organisations. Participants connect through certified Access Points, so a business can reach any other Peppol participant through a single connection. The UAE uses Peppol for e-invoice exchange.
Read definitionPeppol Access Point
A Peppol Access Point is the gateway that connects an organisation to the Peppol network. It sends documents to, and receives documents from, other Access Points using Peppol’s rules for addressing, security and delivery. Every invoice on Peppol passes through an Access Point on each side.
Read definitionPeppol BIS Billing 3.0
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 is the Peppol business interoperability specification for invoices and credit notes, published by OpenPeppol. It defines the data and rules for e-invoices exchanged over Peppol, and is the foundation on which PINT AE is built.
Read definitionPeppol ID
A Peppol ID (participant identifier) is the address that identifies a business on the Peppol network, so that invoices can be routed to the right recipient. Access Points look up a recipient’s Peppol ID to find which service provider receives documents on its behalf.
Read definitionPINT AE
PINT AE is the UAE specification of the Peppol International (PINT) invoice model. It defines the structured XML format, data fields and validation rules that every UAE e-invoice must follow, building on Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 with UAE-specific fields such as tax registration details.
Read definitionTax Registration Number (TRN)
A Tax Registration Number (TRN) is the unique number the FTA issues to a business registered for tax in the UAE. It appears on tax invoices and is one of the key fields in a PINT AE e-invoice, identifying the supplier and, where applicable, the buyer.
Read definitionUBL
UBL (Universal Business Language) is an open XML standard for business documents such as invoices, credit notes and orders, maintained by OASIS. Peppol’s invoice specifications, and therefore PINT AE, are expressed as UBL XML.
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