Articles 8 and 9 of Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025 address two scenarios where someone other than the Issuer generates and transmits the Electronic Invoice. Both articles modify the default obligation in Article 6(1) — which places the issuance and transmission duty on the Issuer — but neither extinguishes that obligation. Understanding the conditions and limits of each provision is essential for businesses operating agency structures, marketplace models, or established self-billing arrangements with suppliers.

Article 8: The Agent Provision

Article 8 provides: "Where an agent acts on behalf of a principal, the agent may issue and transmit the Electronic Invoice or Electronic Credit Note through the Electronic Invoicing System, on behalf of the principal."

Three elements require careful reading.

"An agent acting on behalf of a principal"

The article uses "agent" and "principal" in their established commercial law senses. The agent-principal relationship must be a genuine agency — the agent acts on behalf of and in the name of the principal, not in the agent's own name. A distributor who buys goods from a supplier and resells them is not an agent for this purpose; the distributor is a principal in its own right. An intermediary who concludes contracts and issues invoices on behalf of a disclosed principal — a commercial agent, a buying agent, or a procurement agent — is within the Article 8 scope. The distinction between agency and principal-to-principal trading is factual, and businesses whose commercial structures are ambiguous on this point should resolve the characterisation before assuming Article 8 applies.

"May issue and transmit"

The word "may" confirms this is a permissive provision, not a mandatory one. Where an agent-principal relationship exists, the agent may take on the issuance and transmission function. But the principal retains the option to issue and transmit directly if the arrangement does not delegate issuance to the agent. Where issuance is delegated to the agent, the agent must use an ASP to transmit through the Electronic Invoicing System — the agent cannot route outside the accredited network even when acting for a principal.

The principal's residual obligation

Article 5(1)'s "without prejudice" language is load-bearing here too. Even where an agent issues and transmits on behalf of the principal, the principal remains responsible for ensuring compliance. If the agent fails to transmit within the 14-day window, it is the principal who carries the legal exposure. Agency structures for e-invoicing must include contractual protections — SLA commitments, liability provisions, and error-escalation procedures — that protect the principal against the agent's non-compliance.

Article 9: Self-Billing

Article 9 provides: "The Recipient may issue an Electronic Invoice or an Electronic Credit Note on behalf of the Issuer in respect of a supply of goods or services provided both the Recipient and Issuer are Registrants, in accordance with the conditions prescribed in the VAT Executive Regulation or as otherwise determined by the Minister."

The Registrant-only condition

Self-billing under Article 9 is restricted to situations where both the Recipient (buyer) and the Issuer (supplier) are VAT Registrants. A buyer cannot self-bill for invoices from a non-registered supplier. This condition is stricter than the general Article 3 scope — which extends to non-Registrant Persons — because self-billing is fundamentally a VAT invoice mechanism that requires both parties to hold Tax Registration Numbers. Where a buyer has a self-billing arrangement with a supplier who is not VAT-registered, Article 9 does not apply; the supplier must issue the electronic invoice directly.

VAT Executive Regulation conditions

Article 9's reference to "conditions prescribed in the VAT Executive Regulation" imports the self-billing conditions under the UAE VAT framework. Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017 as amended sets these conditions: there must be a prior written agreement between the parties, each self-billed invoice must be approved by the supplier, and the supplier must not issue a separate VAT invoice for the same supply. These conditions continue to apply under the electronic invoicing framework. The shift from paper self-billed invoices to electronic self-billed invoices through the ASP does not relax these substantive requirements.

Practical impact on established self-billing arrangements

Large buyers who operate self-billing arrangements with their supplier base — particularly in sectors such as construction, logistics, and retail — face a specific planning requirement. Where the buyer is a Phase 1 business implementing by 1 January 2027, all suppliers with whom the buyer self-bills must be assessed against the Article 9 conditions. If those suppliers are not VAT Registrants, self-billing cannot continue under the Electronic Invoicing System; those suppliers must issue their own electronic invoices. If the suppliers are Registrants but fall into Phase 2 (below AED 50 million revenue), the buyer-as-Phase-1-business faces a timing mismatch: the buyer is live in the system but the supplier is not yet obligated to be. The Electronic Invoicing System addresses this through the predefined endpoint mechanism for suppliers not yet onboarded, but the self-billing logic still requires re-examination for each arrangement.

Ministerial determination reserve

The phrase "or as otherwise determined by the Minister" in Article 9 preserves flexibility for the Minister to modify the self-billing conditions by separate determination — potentially expanding or restricting self-billing beyond the current VAT Executive Regulation framework. Businesses with significant self-billing operations should monitor for ministerial determinations under this provision.

Summary: Two Modifications, One Underlying Obligation

Articles 8 and 9 each modify the default Article 6(1) issuance obligation in a specific direction. Article 8 moves the issuance function from the principal to the agent while leaving the principal's compliance responsibility intact. Article 9 moves the issuance function from the supplier to the buyer — but only where both are Registrants and under VAT Executive Regulation conditions. In both cases, the electronic invoice must still be issued and transmitted through the Electronic Invoicing System via an Accredited Service Provider. The network route is the same; the party pressing the button is different.