Last updated · April 2026 · verified with 50+ UAE clients
PINT-AE. The UAE's Peppol invoice schema.
PINT-AE is the UAE-specific Peppol Invoice schema — UBL 2.1 XML with mandatory FTA extensions: TRN, VAT 9%, Arabic, 7-year archive. Required format for every B2B and B2G invoice from July 1, 2027.
UBL 2.1 · PINT-AE 1.0 · FTA aligned · 50+ ERPNext configurations live
PINT-AE is the United Arab Emirates country-specific profile of the Peppol International Invoice (PINT) specification. Technically a UBL 2.1 XML schema with UAE Federal Tax Authority extensions: mandatory TRN fields, VAT 9% reporting, Arabic-language support, digital signature requirements, and 7-year archival metadata. PINT-AE is the mandatory format for every B2B and B2G invoice in the UAE from July 1, 2027.
Technical architecture
Base: UBL 2.1 (Universal Business Language) — the same foundation used by EU Peppol, Australia Peppol, Singapore InvoiceNow. Interoperability by design.
UAE extensions: cac:PartyTaxScheme with TRN in schemeID "UAE_TRN", VAT 9% rate on every tax-bearing line, Arabic language tag in cbc:LanguageID when bilingual invoices, FTA-specific UBL customization ID.
Customization ID: "urn:peppol:pint:billing-1@ae-1" identifies a document as PINT-AE compliant. ASPs validate against this before routing.
Profile ID: "urn:peppol:bis:billing" for B2B, extended to cover B2G routing via government endpoints.
Mandatory PINT-AE fields
Issuer and receiver TRN (Tax Registration Number), both 15-digit UAE FTA-issued.
Invoice date (cbc:IssueDate), due date, invoice number (unique, sequential per FTA).
Line items: HSN code for goods, service classification for services, unit of measure (ISO 6), VAT category (Standard 9%, Zero, Exempt, Out-of-scope).
Currency: AED primary. Multi-currency allowed with cbc:TaxCurrencyCode always AED for FTA reporting.
Totals: taxable amount, VAT amount, total including tax, rounding difference per FTA rules.
Digital signature: XAdES-B-LT applied by the Accredited Service Provider.
Arabic support: optional but recommended for B2C and regulated industries.
How PINT-AE differs from EU Peppol BIS Billing
UAE does not use EU VAT rates. VAT schemeID explicitly set to "VAT" with 9% for Standard, 0% for Zero-rated, "Z" exemption for Exempt, "O" for Out-of-scope.
TRN format is UAE-specific — 15 digits, no country prefix. EU VAT numbers include country code (e.g. DE, FR, NL).
Mandatory Arabic support for bilingual invoice templates. EU Peppol has no Arabic baseline.
FTA customization ID distinct from EU BIS Billing. ASPs must validate the UAE schema, not the EU one.
7-year archival requirement per UAE Federal Law, vs 10-year varying by EU country.
How ERPNext implements PINT-AE
OSForBiz configures the ERPNext Sales Invoice doctype with PINT-AE export hooks. At submit time, an XML document is generated in PINT-AE format using the UBL 2.1 spec.
The XML is handed to the registered Accredited Service Provider via its API. ASP applies the XAdES digital signature, logs the submission with FTA, and routes to the buyer's ASP endpoint.
Receipt acknowledgement flows back into ERPNext as a custom field on the invoice. Signed XML + acknowledgement archived for 7 years per UAE law.
All of this is automatic. Your accounts team keeps raising invoices the same way they always did.
How to validate a PINT-AE invoice before transmission
- 01
Verify schema version
CustomizationID must read "urn:peppol:pint:billing-1@ae-1". Anything else rejected by ASP.
- 02
Confirm TRN fields
cac:AccountingSupplierParty/cac:Party/cac:PartyTaxScheme/cbc:CompanyID contains your 15-digit TRN, schemeID="UAE_TRN". Same for customer.
- 03
Validate VAT structure
Every cac:TaxSubtotal has cac:TaxCategory/cbc:ID = "S" (standard 9%), "Z" (zero), "E" (exempt), or "O" (out-of-scope). No other codes allowed.
- 04
Check currency consistency
DocumentCurrencyCode and TaxCurrencyCode for FTA reporting must align. If invoicing in USD, TaxCurrencyCode still AED with converted VAT amount.
- 05
Ensure line-item classifications
Every cac:InvoiceLine has cac:Item/cac:CommodityClassification with HSN code for goods or service category code for services.
- 06
Run through validator
UBL 2.1 XSD validation + FTA PINT-AE Schematron rules. OSForBiz bundles the validator into every ERPNext configuration for pre-send validation.
- 07
Digital signature
XAdES-B-LT applied by the ASP, not by you. Never sign an invoice yourself — the signature carries ASP accreditation, not client authority.
Common questions.
What is PINT-AE?+
PINT-AE is the UAE-specific Peppol Invoice schema — a UBL 2.1 XML profile with UAE Federal Tax Authority extensions required for e-invoicing from July 2027.
How is PINT-AE different from EU Peppol BIS Billing?+
Different CustomizationID, UAE VAT codes (9% vs EU 19–25%), TRN instead of EU VAT number, mandatory Arabic support, 7-year archive per UAE law.
Do I need a Peppol ASP to transmit PINT-AE invoices?+
Yes. Direct transmission is not permitted. Every invoice must flow through an FTA-accredited Service Provider. OSForBiz integrates with UAE ASPs.
Is PINT-AE the same as UBL 2.1?+
PINT-AE is built on UBL 2.1 but adds UAE-specific fields, validation rules, and compliance extensions. A plain UBL 2.1 invoice will be rejected by UAE ASPs.
Who maintains the PINT-AE schema?+
The Peppol Authority UAE (under FTA) maintains the specification. Versions track the FTA's e-invoicing regulation updates.
Can I build PINT-AE integration myself?+
Possible but expensive. The XML generation, signing delegation, ASP integration, and validator maintenance is 3–6 months of engineering. ERPNext with OSForBiz configuration ships it ready in 4 weeks at Starter tier.
Technical questions about PINT-AE?
Book a 30-minute call with an engineer who has shipped PINT-AE configurations across 50+ UAE ERPNext deployments.
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