CR and VAT Requirements for B2B Energy Suppliers in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has two foundational compliance requirements for any business selling to other businesses: a valid Commercial Registration (CR) and a VAT registration with ZATCA. Both are mandatory for ENTEK supplier verification and for issuing e-invoices to Saudi buyers. This guide explains the current requirements and how to ensure your CR and VAT status are correctly configured for ENTEK listings.

Commercial Registration (CR) Requirements

The CR is issued by the Ministry of Commerce (MC) and is the primary legal identity of your Saudi business. Every ENTEK supplier must hold a valid CR with the following conditions:

• Valid and unexpired: CR must not be suspended, expired, or under litigation
• Correct business activities: Your CR must include activity codes covering wholesale or retail trade of energy equipment. If you supply IoT products, ensure technology distribution activities are included
• Capital adequacy: Some tender and government procurement processes require minimum capital thresholds — ensure your CR reflects adequate registered capital for your target buyer segments
• Branch CRs: If you operate through branch offices, each branch needs its own CR. ENTEK links the head office CR to your supplier account by default

Check your CR status and renew at mc.gov.sa (Ministry of Commerce portal). Renewal is required annually and costs SAR 1,200 for most entity types.

VAT Registration Requirements

Saudi Arabia introduced VAT at 5% in 2018, raised to 15% in 2020. All businesses with annual taxable revenues exceeding SAR 375,000 must register for VAT with ZATCA. For B2B energy suppliers with revenues above this threshold:

• VAT registration is mandatory
• E-invoicing (Fatoorah) is mandatory for all B2B transactions
• Monthly or quarterly VAT returns must be filed with ZATCA
• All invoices must include your 15-digit TIN, buyer TIN, and line-item VAT amounts

E-Invoicing (Fatoorah) Compliance

Saudi Arabia's e-invoicing mandate (Fatoorah) applies in two phases. Phase 2, now fully rolled out, requires all B2B invoices to be generated through ZATCA-integrated invoicing systems and submitted to ZATCA's clearance platform before being sent to buyers. ENTEK's invoicing system is integrated with Fatoorah — when you process an order through ENTEK, your invoice is automatically cleared with ZATCA and delivered to the buyer in compliant format.

Suppliers using external ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Odoo) must ensure their system has a ZATCA-certified Fatoorah integration. ENTEK can provide API documentation for connecting external ERP invoicing to ENTEK order workflows.

CR and VAT Verification on ENTEK

During ENTEK supplier registration, the system cross-checks your CR number and VAT TIN against Ministry of Commerce and ZATCA databases via API integration. This means:

• Your CR number must exactly match your Ministry of Commerce record
• Your VAT TIN must be active and linked to the same legal entity as the CR
• Any mismatch (e.g., CR registered to holding company, VAT to operating company) will flag for manual review

If your corporate structure separates the trading entity from the holding entity, contact ENTEK's supplier success team before registering to ensure the correct entity is used for supplier verification.

Keeping Your Compliance Current

ENTEK automatically checks CR and VAT status periodically. If your CR expires or your VAT registration is suspended, your product listings are paused and buyers are notified. Keep your compliance calendar updated and renew both documents well before expiry dates to maintain uninterrupted listing status.

For CR renewal: mc.gov.sa | For VAT queries: zatca.gov.sa | For supplier portal: supplier portal | For ENTEK compliance questions: [email protected]