What a Bahrain VAT invoice normally shows, and mistakes to avoid

What the commentary says it normally carries

Published commentary describes a Bahrain VAT invoice as a document that identifies the sale clearly and shows how the VAT was worked out. The items below are the ones most often listed. They are a description, not the official text.

Notice that the list is about three things: who sold, what was sold and how the tax was calculated. If a reader can answer those three questions from the page alone, the invoice is doing its job.

• A sequential invoice number and the date of issue.
• The supplier name and the supplier VAT registration number.
• A description of the goods or services, with quantities and unit prices.
• The net amount, the VAT rate applied and the VAT amount, in Bahraini dinars to three decimals.
• The total payable, and the customer name where the sale is to a business.

Mistakes to avoid

Most invoice problems are not exotic. They are small habits that pile up until someone has to untangle them at month end. These are the ones worth watching for.

None of them is hard to fix once you notice it. The trick is to notice early, which is easier when numbers run in order and every correction leaves a trace.

• Typing the VAT amount by hand, so the rate and the amount drift apart.
• Mixing lines that carry VAT with lines that do not, without showing which is which.
• Editing or deleting an issued invoice instead of correcting it with a credit note.
• Leaving gaps or repeats in the numbering, or numbering by hand from two desks.
• Rounding each line differently, so the total never matches the lines.

Always confirm the list with the NBR

The NBR publishes the exact list of what a VAT invoice must show, and the list can differ by type of sale and can be updated. What we have written above is the commonly described core. Treat it as a checklist to take to a conversation, not as the answer.

Confirm with the NBR or with your accountant, especially for zero-rated sales, simplified documents for small retail sales and sales to customers outside Bahrain. Ask them to confirm in writing if the amount at stake is large. We do not quote registration thresholds, penalties or deadlines here, because they are the NBR's to state.

Where TAQNIX ERP fits

TAQNIX ERP is a program that runs on a Mac and opens in your browser. For Bahrain it produces invoices and credit notes with sequential numbers and 10% VAT worked out on each line, in Arabic and English, in dinars.

It does not file VAT returns and it is not an accredited e-invoicing provider. It keeps the invoice side tidy so that you or your accountant can prepare the return elsewhere from clean numbers.