The short answer

Oman’s Tax Authority is introducing mandatory electronic invoicing under a programme called Fawtara. Invoices will need to be issued in a set electronic format and shared with the Tax Authority.

A voluntary pilot with selected large taxpayers began in August 2026. Under the latest published timeline, the largest VAT-registered businesses start in April 2027 and others follow later in 2027. These dates have changed before, so check the Tax Authority’s current announcements.

What Fawtara is

Fawtara is the name of Oman’s national e-invoicing programme. It follows a wider move across the Gulf towards e-invoicing, which helps tax authorities check VAT and reduce paper processes.

Instead of a PDF or paper invoice, the seller’s system creates a structured electronic invoice. The invoice data is shared with the Tax Authority through an approved route. The technical rules set out the format, the required fields and how invoices are exchanged.

For most businesses, the biggest change is that an invoice is no longer just a document sent to the customer. It becomes a data record that must be correct, complete and shared on time. Errors that were once fixed with a quick phone call may now mean a rejected invoice.

The Tax Authority publishes these rules and updates them. Read the current versions before you design anything, rather than relying on summaries, including this one.

The expected timeline

  • Pilot. A voluntary pilot with selected large taxpayers, from August 2026.
  • First mandatory phase. The largest VAT-registered businesses, from April 2027 under the latest published timeline.
  • Later phases. Other VAT-registered businesses later in 2027, in groups set by the Tax Authority.

Published sources have given different dates over time, and the plan may change again. Confirm your own date with the Tax Authority or your tax adviser before you plan around it.

What it will mean for your systems

The detail is still being finalised, but the work will look much like it has in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

  • Structured invoice data. Your ERP, billing or shop system must produce invoices in the required electronic format.
  • Complete records. Customer VAT numbers, addresses and product details must be accurate, or invoices may be rejected.
  • A connection. Your system will need a reliable way to send invoices through the approved route.
  • Every source covered. Branch systems, manual invoices and one-off sales all need a compliant path.
  • Error handling. Someone must see and correct any invoice that fails checks.
  • Record keeping. Keep e-invoices for the period the law requires.

How to prepare now

  1. Follow the Tax Authority’s announcements and note any date that applies to you.
  2. List every place invoices are created in your business, including spreadsheets.
  3. Ask your software supplier whether your system will support Fawtara, and when.
  4. Clean your customer and product data, which helps whatever the final rules say.
  5. Plan time for testing before your start date, not after it.
  6. Speak to your tax adviser about how the rules apply to your business.

Starting with your data and your list of invoicing systems is low risk. That work is useful whatever the final technical rules turn out to be.

Questions to ask your software supplier

  • Will our system support Fawtara, and from which version?
  • Does it produce the required invoice format itself, or through a separate provider?
  • How does it handle credit notes, cancelled invoices and rejected invoices?
  • Can it cover all our branches, companies and sales channels?
  • What testing do you offer before our start date?
  • Who supports us if the connection fails on a busy day?

Clear answers help you judge whether to upgrade, add a connector, or plan a wider change.

Lessons from the rest of the Gulf

Saudi Arabia’s rollout shows that the hardest part is rarely the connection itself. It is usually messy data, invoices created outside the main system, and too little testing.

Businesses that cleaned their records early and tested with real invoices had the smoothest start. If you operate in several Gulf countries, plan one approach that can cover each country’s rules. Our guides to ZATCA e-invoicing and UAE e-invoicing explain the neighbouring systems.

Where EsquireTec can help

We help businesses prepare their ERP, billing and custom systems for e-invoicing. That includes mapping your invoice data, building the connection to your chosen e-invoicing solution, handling rejected invoices and testing.

See ERP software development and our page for businesses in Oman. We also support firms in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. We do not give tax advice, so confirm what applies to you with your adviser. To talk through your systems, book a free call.