How to Keep the Tax Invoice for a Commercial Lease in Dubai

The commercial lease is in the folder, and the rent for this supply has moved, but the tax invoice for that supply is not in the clip. Keep each tax invoice for this Dubai commercial lease with that lease. The invoice names the landlord, the tenant, and the supply. A residential tenancy, a Mollak service-charge slip, and a rent-increase notice may already be in the same clip. None of those is this invoice. The housing-fee amendment is another file.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

The invoice for this rent is not in the clip

The lease is already signed. Law No. 26 of 2007 applies to real property leased in Dubai, including property let for a business, a trade, or a profession. The English page says the Arabic text prevails. The law asks for a written lease, signed by both parties, that describes the property, the purpose, the term, the rent, and how the rent is paid. The rent for this supply has moved, and the tax invoice for that supply is not beside the lease.

The Federal Tax Authority, the UAE body that administers value added tax (VAT), says on its rent page that the rent of a residential building is generally exempt from VAT, while the rent of a commercial building is subject to VAT. Article 46 of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 exempts the supply of residential buildings by sale or lease, apart from a first supply that Article 45 sets out, and it also exempts bare land. A home tenancy is not this invoice, and neither is a first lease of a new home.

The Authority’s real-estate guide describes a residential building as one intended and designed for human occupation, including a principal home. A hotel, and a serviced apartment where services go beyond the accommodation, fall outside that description. A Mollak slip is a different paper. Mollak is the service-charge file for communal-area upkeep: the invoice, the payment slip, and the statement. Section 3.4 treats that upkeep as a supply of services, not as the lease of the building. A rent-increase notice, and a housing-fee amendment after a signed rent change, stay in their own files.

Section 6 of the same guide describes commercial real estate as land or a building that is not a residential building, not a charity building used for a relevant charitable activity, and not bare land. A supply includes a sale or a lease. Where the rent is payable by instalment, the tax is due on each instalment. Store each of those invoices with this lease.

Leave amounts and extra dates off the note

The invoice may already print amounts. Leave those amounts where the invoice printed them. A rate, a dirham figure, or a date you write in yourself is not a line on that invoice.

The lines the invoice already shows

Article 59 of Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017 states what a tax invoice shows. Match the paper in the clip to the words Tax Invoice, the landlord, the tenant, and the supply, together with the number and the dates the decision names. The landlord’s tax registration number is the number the Federal Tax Authority issues to a registered person. Any rate and any dirham amount stay on the invoice.

The same decision allows a simplified tax invoice in stated cases. Public clarification VATP006 says a tax invoice is issued and delivered whenever a taxable supply is made, including a supply that may use the simplified form. On a full tax invoice, each line shows the net amount payable and the tax due. Leave those money lines as this invoice printed them. Use the same lines for a full tax invoice and a simplified one, and do not add quantity, a unit price, or a sample total.

File each invoice with this lease

Article 65 of the VAT Decree-Law says a registrant who makes a taxable supply issues an original tax invoice and delivers it to the recipient. Article 67 says the registrant issues that invoice within 14 days from the date of supply in Article 25 or Article 26. Article 25 takes the earliest of the events it lists, including completion of the services, receipt of payment, and the date the tax invoice was issued. Article 26 covers periodic payments and consecutive invoices, so an instalment lease can hold more than one tax invoice. File each one with this lease. Do not add a fee for issuing an invoice late.

Article 78 of the same publication requires a taxable person to keep the tax invoices issued and the tax invoices received. An electronic tax invoice is allowed under Article 59 when the copy is stored securely and the origin and the content stay intact. A cropped photograph from a chat is not that copy. A PDF in the folder is the landlord’s copy of the tax invoice.

The Federal Tax Authority’s e-invoicing page defines an e-invoice as structured invoice data issued, exchanged electronically, and reported to the Authority. A PDF, a Word document, an image, a scan, and an email are not e-invoices. The Ministry of Finance portal is the official source for the programme. You do not appoint a service provider by keeping that PDF with the lease.

The Ministry’s electronic invoicing guidelines, labelled version 1.1 and dated 1 June 2026, say the system does not remove the obligation to issue a tax invoice or a tax credit note. A buyer who is not yet on the system may still need an ordinary tax invoice, such as a PDF, as well. The copy with this lease remains the invoice for this supply.

Stop when this commercial lease holds each tax invoice for that lease. The invoice names the landlord, the tenant, and the supply. Do not write a VAT rate, a dirham figure, or a percent, and do not add a deadline beyond the 14 days in Article 67 of the VAT Decree-Law.

A residential tenancy stays out of this file. If the paper is the Mollak service-charge file, leave it on that file. If it is the rent-increase notice, leave it on that notice. If it is the housing-fee amendment, leave it on that amendment. IziRento stores the invoice with the lease and does not calculate the tax, issue the invoice, or file a return.