ZATCA Phase 2 Wave 25 — Who's In Scope and When?

If your annual revenue is between SAR 250,000 and SAR 500,000, you are almost certainly in the next ZATCA Phase 2 compliance wave. Wave 25 was announced in July 2026 and is expected to carry an integration deadline in Q4 2026 or Q1 2027. The official notification letter from ZATCA has not yet arrived for most businesses in this band — and that is precisely why you should act now.

ZATCA's wave rollout has been systematic and accelerating. Wave 24 — which covered SAR 500,000+ revenue businesses — became active in June 2026. Wave 25 is the next step down the revenue ladder, and the pattern is clear: every VAT-registered business in Saudi Arabia will eventually be required to comply. The question for small business owners is not whether compliance is coming — it is whether you are ready before the penalty clock starts.

This guide tells you exactly where Wave 25 sits in the full wave timeline, how to confirm whether your business is in scope, what happens if you miss the deadline, and how to get compliant in 24–48 hours through StartPOS.

ZATCA Phase 2 Wave Timeline — Where Is Wave 25?

ZATCA has been rolling out Phase 2 compliance in numbered waves since January 2023, starting with the Kingdom's largest taxpayers and progressively moving to smaller businesses. Each wave is tied to an annual revenue threshold. Once a business's wave is notified, a six-month integration window opens before enforcement begins.

The table below shows the full wave history up to and including Wave 25. Wave 24 — covering SAR 500,000+ businesses — became active in June 2026. Wave 25 is the next announced wave, targeting the SAR 250,000–500,000 revenue band.

To confirm your exact wave assignment and integration deadline, log in to the ZATCA Fatoora portal using your Absher or Nafath credentials and check your business profile. ZATCA also publishes the official wave list at s2c.zatca.gov.sa. The portal notification is the authoritative source — industry estimates, including this article, are based on the announced pattern but the official letter governs your specific deadline.

How ZATCA Notifies Businesses About Their Wave

ZATCA's notification process follows a consistent pattern across all waves. Understanding it is essential — because it affects how much time you actually have to integrate.

The Six-Month Window

ZATCA sends an official notification letter to businesses approximately six months before their integration deadline. This letter arrives via the Fatoora portal and by email to the registered business contact. Once you receive the letter, you have the stated deadline to achieve full Phase 2 integration — including CCSID certificate registration, API connectivity to the Fatoorah portal, compliance testing, and live production invoicing.

Six months sounds generous. In practice, business owners in previous waves have consistently underestimated how much preparation time is needed. Product catalogues need to be structured and imported. Customer VAT registration numbers need to be collected and entered. Staff need to learn the new invoice workflow. And the CCSID registration process — while handled by your software provider — requires your VAT registration details and a testing period against ZATCA's sandbox environment.

Do Not Wait for the Letter

The businesses that miss wave deadlines are almost always businesses that waited for the official notification before starting any integration work. If your annual revenue is SAR 250,000–500,000, you should begin integration now — before the Wave 25 letter arrives. Here is why:

• Integration with StartPOS takes 24–48 hours once your data is ready — but data preparation (products, customers, pricing) takes time for many businesses.
• Once integrated, you are protected from day one of enforcement — whether the deadline is Q4 2026 or Q1 2027.
• Early integration means you eliminate any risk of penalties from the first day of the enforcement window.
• ZATCA has not delayed enforcement for businesses that simply failed to start integration in time.

ZATCA also updates the official wave participant list at s2c.zatca.gov.sa. You can check this list periodically to monitor when Wave 25 businesses appear. However, waiting for your name to appear on this list before starting is the same mistake as waiting for the notification letter.

Does Wave 25 Apply to My Business?

Use the checklist below to determine whether your business is likely in Wave 25 scope. These criteria mirror the criteria ZATCA has applied consistently across previous waves.

Business Types Typically In Wave 25 Scope

Based on the revenue band and ZATCA's previous wave scope, the following business categories are typically represented in Wave 25:

• Small retailers — independent shops, convenience stores, specialty retailers with annual revenue in the SAR 250K–500K range
• Independent cafes and small restaurants — single-branch F&B businesses below the Wave 24 threshold
• Service businesses — accounting firms, consultancies, maintenance companies, small professional services practices
• Small factories and light manufacturers — production businesses supplying local wholesalers or retailers
• Wholesale traders — small import/export businesses and commodity traders at the lower revenue end
• Health and beauty businesses — clinics, salons, optical shops, and pharmacies in the revenue band

Business Types in Upcoming Waves (Not Yet Wave 25)

Micro-businesses with revenue below SAR 250,000, seasonal traders who may fall below the annual threshold, and newly registered VAT businesses are expected to fall into waves beyond Wave 25 — likely in the 2027 rollout. If your revenue is consistently below SAR 250,000 annually, you are not in Wave 25 scope, but you will eventually be notified.

What Happens If You Miss the Wave 25 Deadline?

ZATCA's penalty framework for Phase 2 non-compliance is structured, escalating, and has been actively enforced since the early waves. The table below shows the published penalty schedule.

The financial penalties are the most visible consequence — but they are not the only one. Read the full ZATCA penalties guide for more detail on the enforcement process.

Beyond the fines, missing the Wave 25 deadline carries several business consequences that compound over time:

• B2B invoice rejection by buyers. Major buyers, corporate clients, government contractors, and large retail chains are required to receive ZATCA-cleared invoices for their own input VAT claims. If your invoice is not ZATCA Phase 2 compliant, they cannot process it — and they will stop buying from you until you are compliant.
• Bank and financing scrutiny. Businesses applying for trade finance, working capital loans, or government-backed financing programmes face increased documentation requirements. Non-compliant invoicing creates a red flag in any creditworthiness review.
• ZATCA audit exposure for backdated periods. ZATCA's audit systems compare submitted invoice totals against VAT return declarations in real time. Operating outside the Phase 2 system creates a gap in the invoice record that is visible to ZATCA's automated audit tools, increasing the likelihood of a full VAT audit.
• Competitive disadvantage. Suppliers and service providers that are ZATCA Phase 2 compliant carry a visible trust signal with corporate buyers. Businesses that integrate early establish that signal first — and in B2B markets, trust signals affect purchasing decisions.

How to Get ZATCA Phase 2 Compliant Before Wave 25

For businesses in the SAR 250,000–500,000 revenue band, integration with StartPOS follows a straightforward six-step process. Gulf Union Ozone handles the technical steps — you focus on running your business.

1. Confirm your revenue qualifies for Wave 25. Check your most recent VAT return for your annual taxable turnover. If it falls between SAR 250,000 and SAR 500,000, you are likely in Wave 25 scope. If you are unsure, contact your accountant or log in to the ZATCA Fatoora portal to check your wave status.
2. Start a free trial with StartPOS — no credit card required. WhatsApp Gulf Union Ozone at +966 50 197 1075 to activate your 15-day free trial. You will have immediate access to the full StartPOS platform, including the ZATCA Phase 2 invoice engine, before any payment is due.
3. Gulf Union Ozone handles CCSID registration. The Cryptographic Stamp Identifier (CCSID) is the government-issued certificate that allows your POS to digitally sign invoices. You do not need to interact with ZATCA's developer portal at any stage. Our team submits the CCSID registration on your behalf, runs compliance testing against ZATCA's sandbox, and confirms production readiness.
4. Data migration: products, customers, and pricing. Our onboarding team imports your product catalogue, customer list, and pricing into StartPOS. For most Wave 25 businesses — small retailers, independent cafes, service businesses — this step takes a few hours, not days.
5. Staff training — approximately one hour. StartPOS is designed for non-technical users. The ZATCA invoice workflow (B2C simplified for consumer sales, B2B standard for corporate clients) is embedded in the normal sale and checkout flow. Staff training for standard operations takes approximately one hour.
6. Go live on ZATCA Phase 2 in 24–48 hours. From the moment we receive your VAT registration details and product data, the complete onboarding — CCSID registration, sandbox testing, production go-live — takes 24 to 48 hours. You are then issuing fully ZATCA Phase 2 compliant invoices from every sale, automatically.

For a full technical breakdown of what ZATCA Phase 2 requires — UBL 2.1 XML, CCSID certificates, clearance vs. reporting mode — see our ZATCA Phase 2 e-invoicing explained guide. For guidance on evaluating and choosing between ZATCA software providers, see how to choose ZATCA Phase 2 software in Saudi Arabia.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line on Wave 25

Wave 25 is not a distant compliance event — it is the next announced step in ZATCA's methodical rollout, and it directly targets businesses with SAR 250,000–500,000 in annual revenue. The enforcement deadline is expected in Q4 2026 or Q1 2027, but the integration work starts now.

The ZATCA compliance journey for a Wave 25 business is materially simpler than it was for large enterprises in Wave 1. The technology is mature, the onboarding process is fast, and the costs are predictable. The only variable is how much time you give yourself before the deadline arrives.

StartPOS gives you a ZATCA Phase 2 certified system, handled onboarding in 24–48 hours, and a one-time license structure that means no monthly compliance tax on top of your business costs. WhatsApp us at +966 50 197 1075 to start your free trial, or explore our ZATCA Phase 2 software page to learn more about what StartPOS includes.