MCA Oman gathers business leaders on e-invoicing

MUSCAT, AUGUST 25
BALARAB AL TAMIMI
Around 50,000 companies in Oman are expected to come under the country's national electronic invoicing system, Fawtara, as the Oman Tax Authority (OTA) works towards full implementation by 2028, officials said at an industry seminar in Muscat.
OTA officials told the seminar that businesses should begin readiness assessments now, cautioning that the shift to e-invoicing amounts to an organisational transformation rather than a software upgrade.
Aisha bint Salim al Shidi, change management and communication lead for the Fawtara project at the OTA, said companies needed to prepare their people, systems, data and processes ahead of implementation and urged them not to delay.

Idris al Rashdi, Fawtara project manager at the OTA, said the scope of the programme was still evolving, telling the seminar that Oman was the first country to incorporate business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions and three-decimal requirements into its e-invoicing framework. He said both features raised additional considerations around invoice calculation, validation and system readiness.
The seminar, titled The Future of Tax Compliance: Navigating Oman's Fawtara (e-Invoicing) Rollout, was held at the Mandarin Oriental, Muscat, earlier this week. It was organised by professional services firm MCA Oman in collaboration with compliance technology provider Taxilla and drew more than 140 finance professionals, technology specialists and business representatives, according to the organisers.
Pavan Peechara, founder and chief executive of Taxilla, discussed global e-invoicing trends and enterprise readiness, drawing on the firm's work across multiple sectors and enterprise resource planning (ERP) environments. Taxilla is a registered accredited service provider (ASP) in Oman with local hosting capability.
A panel discussion on industry challenges was moderated by Shilpa Vipul Pawani, director at MCA Oman and included Idris al Rashdi; Girish Chand, senior partner at MCA Gulf; Peechara; and Ram Subramaniam, partner for technology and e-invoicing at MCA Gulf.
Chand, drawing on the firm's experience of e-invoicing mandates in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, said organisations would need to look beyond compliance and prepare systems, processes and teams for the change ahead.
Pawani said collaboration between the regulator and the business community would be central to a smooth transition. 'We commend the Oman Tax Authority for its visionary leadership, professional approach and continued support in rolling out this significant initiative for Oman', she said.