Last month, a client of mine had 68 cartons of vape devices held by Saudi customs. The cargo was worth about AED 120k, and the penalty hit AED 24k. The issue wasn't the product — it was a single digit error in the UAE VAT number on the invoice.
To be honest, this is becoming routine. Since May 2026, Saudi ZATCA and UAE Customs have been sharing VAT data in real time. In simple terms, every invoice you file in UAE is visible to Saudi authorities. If the amount, tax number, or product description doesn't match, the system automatically stops the shipment.
From my experience, many sellers still rely on old tricks — letting their freight forwarder fill in any invoice number. That no longer works. Take another case: a client said, "My invoices are all prepared by an UAE accountant, why was my shipment held?" It turned out the invoice showed a delivery address in Jeddah, but the VAT registration was in Dubai. The Saudi system flagged it as a "domestic transaction" and demanded 5% VAT on top.
How to avoid this? Three steps. First, every shipment to Saudi must include a Saudi VAT number (if locally registered) or a dual UAE-Saudi tax ID on the invoice. Second, use an e-invoicing system (ZATCA-compliant format), no more Excel printouts. Third, check the HS code's VAT rate before shipping — some categories jumped from 5% to 15% temporarily.
I know 8ship recently helped clients with an invoice pre-check service, boosting pass rates from 72% to 94%. But the real fix starts with the seller.
By the way, are your customs invoices system-generated or manually filled in?