Standard Business Document structure

The Standard Business Document (SBD) is the required container for every invoice you submit to Sovos.

The Standard Business Document carries the routing metadata and invoice payload that Sovos needs to process and deliver your document. It has two parts: the Standard Business Document Header (SBDH) and the Sovos Canonical Invoice (SCI). The SBDH holds the routing metadata. The Sovos Canonical Invoice carries your invoice data in Universal Business Language (UBL) 2.1 format. Sovos validates and transforms the SCI into PINT-AE XML, then sends it to the PEPPOL Access Point.

For a full description of the Standard Business Document and SBDH, see About the Standard Business Document.

UAE-specific SBDH fields

The following fields require UAE-specific values. All other SBDH fields follow the standard structure described in common content.

Sender identifier

Set the Authority attribute to AE. Use your 10-digit TIN as the identifier. No separators, no country prefix.

<sbd:Sender>
  <sbd:Identifier Authority="AE">1234567890</sbd:Identifier>
</sbd:Sender>

Receiver identifier

Set the Authority attribute to AE. Use the buyer's 10-digit TIN.

<sbd:Receiver>
  <sbd:Identifier Authority="AE">0987654321</sbd:Identifier>
</sbd:Receiver>

Business scope

<sbd:BusinessScope>
  <sbd:Scope>
    <sbd:Type>PRODUCTID</sbd:Type>
    <sbd:InstanceIdentifier>ae_invoice_1.0</sbd:InstanceIdentifier>
  </sbd:Scope>
  <sbd:Scope>
    <sbd:Type>Country</sbd:Type>
    <sbd:InstanceIdentifier/>
    <sbd:Identifier>AE</sbd:Identifier>
  </sbd:Scope>
  <sbd:Scope>
    <sbd:Type>CompanyCode</sbd:Type>
    <sbd:InstanceIdentifier/>
    <sbd:Identifier>1234567890</sbd:Identifier>
  </sbd:Scope>
  <sbd:Scope>
    <sbd:Type>Mapping.OutputSchema</sbd:Type>
    <sbd:InstanceIdentifier/>
    <sbd:Identifier>PINTAE</sbd:Identifier>
  </sbd:Scope>
  <sbd:Scope>
    <sbd:Type>Mapping.TransformDocument</sbd:Type>
    <sbd:InstanceIdentifier/>
    <sbd:Identifier>SCI-TO-LEGAL_INVOICE</sbd:Identifier>
  </sbd:Scope>
</sbd:BusinessScope>

Key SCI fields for UAE

Set the following fields within the UBL invoice to control PINT-AE output:


SCI field	Required value	Purpose
`Invoice.CustomizationID`	`urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0#conformant#urn:fdc:ae.gov.mof:2025:pint-ae:billing:1.0`	Mandatory PINT-AE specification identifier
`Invoice.ProfileID`	`urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0`	PEPPOL billing process identifier
`AccountingSupplierParty.Party.EndpointID` (schemeID=`0235`)	Your TIN	Your PEPPOL endpoint
`AccountingCustomerParty.Party.EndpointID` (schemeID=`0235`)	Buyer's TIN	Buyer PEPPOL endpoint, required for routing
`Invoice.InvoiceTypeCode`	`380` (invoice) or `381` (credit note)	Document type
`TaxTotal.TaxAmount` (currency=AED)	AED-equivalent tax total	Required at header level regardless of invoice currency

Transaction type flags

A transaction type flag is a set of binary digits used to identify the special transaction type an invoice represents. Every United Arab Emirates (UAE) e-invoice must include an Invoice Transaction Type Code. This field tells the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) what kind of transaction the invoice represents.

This matters because the UAE VAT regime includes several special transaction types, each with different tax rules. The transaction type code makes those distinctions machine-readable. Validators reject invoices that omit or misconfigure this field. You can set their values in the SovosExtension block.

The following table shows complete information about the eight positions that determine each transaction in order:


Flag	Set to `true` when
`FreeTradeZoneSupply`	Either party is in a UAE Free Trade Zone
`MarginScheme`	The transaction uses the VAT margin scheme
`DeemedSupply`	The supply is a deemed supply
`SummaryInvoice`	The seller makes more than one supply of goods or services to the same buyer in the same calendar month
`ContinuousSupply`	The supply of goods or services made on recurring basis
`AgentBilling`	A registered agent makes the supply on behalf of a principal
`ECommerceSupply`	The supply of goods or services through e-commerce
`Exports`	The supply of goods or services is made outside the UAE

Sovos Docs

Standard Business Document structure

UAE-specific SBDH fields

Key SCI fields for UAE

Transaction type flags

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