The archive
Issuing is not enough; keeping is a separate duty
Phase 1 requires generating electronic invoices and keeping them in a compatible solution. The VAT Implementing Regulations require invoices, books and records to be kept for at least six years from the end of the tax period they belong to. Capital-asset records are kept longer. The archive must be available to ZATCA on request, with access in the Kingdom if the server is abroad. A PDF download on a laptop is not that archive.
Fawtar at fawtar.app is an independent Saudi product. It is not ZATCA’s Fatoora platform, not Fatoora.app, not Oman’s Fawtara programme, and not Jordanian Fawtara products. This page is a reading aid. Last verified 2026-08-29. It is not tax advice.
What is kept, and for how long?
| Item | Source | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| General period | VAT Implementing Regulations — records | At least six years from the end of the tax period. |
| Capital assets | The same regulations plus the input-tax guideline | Longer than six years. Do not take the exact extra years from this summary. |
| Electronic invoice | Phase 1 guidelines | Generate and keep in the solution, with export to an external archive. |
| Where | Article 66 / e-invoicing FAQ | In the Kingdom, or via an access point in the Kingdom if the server is abroad. |
Deletion breaks the archive as well as the sequence
An e-invoicing solution must not delete generated invoices. A credit note corrects value and leaves the original in the archive. Together: a sequence without holes, and a record you can show ZATCA.
What Fawtar does not claim
A saved account keeps invoices and notes in the workspace and, on Business, exports CSV tables. That helps you keep records. It does not move the legal duty onto Fawtar, and it does not mean the product retains data for six years after you close the account. Export your archive and keep it for your period.
What Fawtar does here
The public PDF generator does not build your organisation’s archive. Create an account to keep issued invoices, use the accountant pack when handing over, and do not delete an issued invoice.
Sources
Short questions
Is keeping the invoice in email enough?
The guidelines require keeping invoices in the e-invoicing solution and producing the archive for ZATCA. A mailbox is not that solution.
Is Fawtar a six-year legal archive?
No. It stores workspace invoices while the account exists. The statutory period and the export are yours.