This article provides a comprehensive guide on ZATCA compliance, covering its importance, activation process, and regulatory requirements to help merchants efficiently connect their accounts with Zatca and issue invoices complied with Zatca. This resource will walk you through each step to ensure full compliance with Saudi tax laws.

The process involves several mandatory steps, starting with obtaining a compliance stamp, submitting test invoices, acquiring the production stamp, and finally activating the system to ensure all paid invoices are auto-cleared while rejected ones can be fixed and resubmitted.

In this article you will get to know:


What is Zatca?


ZATCA, or the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority, is a Saudi Arabian government entity responsible for managing Zakat, taxes, and customs duties. It was formed by merging the General Authority of Zakat and Tax and the General Customs Authority into a single organization

Why KSA merchants need to enable Zatka?

KSA merchants using PayTabs need to enable ZATCA (Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority) compliance because it is mandatory for businesses that exceed 3 million SAR in profit. This requirement ensures that merchants adhere to Saudi Arabia’s tax regulations.


There are two main types of invoices are:

  • Standard Tax Invoice (B2B)
    -An invoice that is issued by a business to another business (B2B) – (For example PayTabs VAT Invoices to our merchants)
    - The QR is Optional for the standard invoice

  • Simplified Tax Invoice (B2C)
    An invoice that is issued by a business to consumer (B2C) - (For example A merchant's invoice to their customer)
    -The QR is mandatory for the Simplified Tax invoice
     

Requirements to enable/ activate Zatca:


To enable Zatka on your LIVE account, ensure you have the following requirements:


  1. Official Invitation from ZATCA

    You must receive an official invitation from ZATCA via one of their official communication channels, such as email, WhatsApp...


  2. Access to the Fatoorah Portal
    The merchant must have full access to the Fatoorah e-invoicing portal, which is necessary for managing ZATCA compliance.

  3. VAT/Tax Reference added on your profile (15 digits)
    The merchant must have a VAT/Tax Reference Number set up.
    If you didn't add it yet, share your details with our team, and we will ensure it is added to your account.



  4. Make sure you meet the address requirements:

    Ensure your business address details are complete and meet the following criteria:

    • Full company address (must be the actual registered company address).

    • On Address 2 field: make sure it includes the building number (4-digit)

    • City name.

    • Zip code (5 digits).

      To edit any of this information, access "Merchant Details" section from your profile icon:


  5. Inform PayTabs team whether you need Zatca activated for B2B or B2C.
  6. Mak sure the below information exists on your profile account:

    i. Merchant Dashboard: MCC (Merchant /Trading Details/Business Activity)
    ii. Must have ZATCA 2 button enabled ( Zatca enablement button can be done after activation team of PayTabs)
    iii. Must have "Credit / Debit Note" enabled (Check with PayTabs team to enable it) 


  7. Invoice currency must be in SAR 


How to enable Zatca?


Step 1: Verify Zatca Compliance Requirements


Ensure you meet all the requirements (Requirements to enable/ activate Zatca:)


Step 2: Request Activation


Reach out to PayTabs Team /your account manager to request enabling Zatca on your account. The relevant team will verify whether your account meets the required conditions before initiating the process and once approved, the team will enable Zatca for your profile.


Step 3: Enable Zatca Button

Once ZATCA is successfully enabled by the PayTabs team, you will find a ZATCA activation button in your merchant profile. Make sure you enable the button from your side for your profile.

  • Go to Profile menu from your PayTabs dashboard > navigate to "Zatca2" option > click on the edit (Pen Icon) > Click on "Enabled" button from inside the page > then click Save.



 





 Step 4: Connect your profile to your ZATCA Account.



1.Access your" Developers" tab from the merchant dashboard side menu. 
  You will find Zatca under the Pre-Built Integrations section.




2.Open Zatca section and then click Next to register for a new Zatca stamp:



3.Add the 6-digits OTP code generated from your Fatoorah portal

  • To obtain the OTP, access your Fatoorah portal and click Generate OTP.




Zatca (Fatoorah ) portaal:


  • After submitting the OTP, you should see a new record for that CSID with the status ‘Compliance stamp Generated’.



4.Issue 3 Invoices for ZATCA Compliance


-To begin issuing new invoices, follow these steps. You must create three invoices for ZATCA verification. Once all three invoices are approved, the production stamp will be available. The required invoices are:

  1. Standard Invoice – A regular invoice to be paid.

  2. Credit Note (Refund) – Used for refunding an amount from the same invoice paid ( the standard invoice)

  3. Debit Note – Used for requesting additional payment (such as adding a new item to the same invoice once its paid).


Each invoice must:

  • Be reported to Zatca:
    -Once the invoice is created> open the invoice > click on "Check for Zatca Compliance" button that will appear once you complete the previous steps.


    -You will receive a success message confirming compliance.


  • Tax field shall be either :0%, 5% or 15% only (make sure that the % sign is added) 
  • Must include Customer Details: 

    *For B2B invoices: the merchant will be required to provide the other Merchant/Business Tax Ref.
  • Cannot use "Digital product Mode"



-For issuing the Credit Note invoice (Refund):

  1. Open the same paid invoice (the 1st one).

  2. Click on "Add Credit Note".



  3. You can refund by either:

    1. Removing one of the items if multiple items exist in the invoice.

    2. Reducing the price of an item (e.g., if the invoice is 10 SAR, adjust it to 8 SAR to refund 2 SAR).


  4. Once completed, remember to report it to Zatca as explained above.



-For the Debit Note invoice:

  1. Open the same invoice
  2. Click on "Add Debit Note"


  3. Here you have to add a new Item as you cannot change an item which has been paid already


  4. Once the new item added and paid, you should report it to Zatca by accessing the Debit note invoice and click on "Check for Zatca Compliance".

For each of the 3 invoices, after clicking the Check for ZATCA Compliance button, you will be able to track their status in the ZATCA portal under the Developers tab.

Each invoice will initially be marked as "Checked", and once all three invoices are successfully verified, their status will be updated accordingly, completing the compliance process.



Once all the 3 invoices have been checked and passed successfully, go to Developers Tab > Zatca > you will find the status changed to "Compliance Check Passed"

5.Click on Get Production stamp


6.And then click on the "Activate" button.  
 



Congratulations! Your ZATCA stamp is now activated. Any new invoice you create will be automatically reported to ZATCA.




Once Zatca is activated, merchant will be able to:


  • Get a cleared XML invoice 
  • Download and issue invoices with Zatca QR code
  • Scan the QR code to get the invoice details


    Invoice Statuses: 

    • Cleared: Invoice approved + signed by ZATCA 

    • Rejected: Errors found (e.g. wrong VAT %) 

    • Queued: ZATCA approval is pending from their side, and the system will automatically retry it later.

      Can I resubmit a rejected test Invoice?
      Yes, if any test invoice fails: 

      • ZATCA marks the compliance stamp invalid. 
      • Merchant must generate a new compliance stamp and redo the process.


How to check if Zatca is enabled on your Profile?


To verify merchant has ZATCA enabled:

login into your merchant account, you should see

New ZATCA option in the developer page in the pre-built integration section as shown below:


What is the difference between Compliance Stamp & Production Stamp?

-Compliance Stamp (CSID):

Acts as a test stamp to verify that a merchant's invoicing setup meets ZATCA requirements. It's used to submit three test invoices for clearance:

  • Standard Invoice (for payment).
  • Credit Note (for refunds).
  • Debit Note (for additional payments).

If all test invoices pass ZATCA's checks, the merchant can proceed to obtain the Production Stamp.


-Production Stamp (PCSID): 

The Production Stamp is issued after successful compliance verification (the Compliance Stamp phase is successfully verified).


Allows merchants to clear real paid invoices automatically with ZATCA.

Once activated:

  • B2B invoices are sent for clearance, verified, and signed.

  • B2C invoices are reported (No need to be signed).

  • Once activated, all new invoices will include a QR code with the invoice hash and PCSID for tracking.