Regulatory updates - Oman

The Oman Tax Authority has announced a reduction to the VAT rate of basic food commodities, human medicines and medical equipment and veterinary medicines and medical equipment through Decision No.223/2026,  224/2026 and 225/2026.

Reductions will apply to:

• Basic food commodities: Including meat and poultry, milk, dairy products and cheese, vegetables and fruits, fish, shrimp and squid, eggs, grains, legumes and flour, bread and some other food products, water and animal feed and certain products related to food production
• Human medicines and medical equipment: Including pharmaceutical products, medical supplies, diagnostic and laboratory products, medical devices, hospital equipment, mobility aids, and certain healthcare-related items
• Veterinary medicines and medical equipment: Including veterinary pharmaceutical ingredients, vitamins, antibiotics, vaccines, hormones, biological products, medical preparations, and selected products used in veterinary treatment and clinical trials

The zero-rating applies to the specific HS codes defined in the Annexes of the respective decisions. In total, 1,546 products are affected by the reduction.

The VAT rate reductions enter into force on October 1, 2026.

The launch of the Fawtara Portal marks a key step in the previously announced implementation timeline ahead of the introduction of the Peppol 5-corner mandate.

The OTA has also indicated it will soon release the finalized e-invoicing data dictionary, which will outline content requirements, scope, and business rules.

The publication of the final data dictionary will be the next significant milestone in helping taxpayers and service providers prepare for the mandate.

Accreditation process to commence Q1 2026

OTA reiterated on the timelines for implementation of the Fawtara system:

• Q1 2026 (indicated February 2026): Registration portal opens for service providers. Application for accreditation can be submitted through the portal.
• Q2 2026 (indicated May 2026): Testing opens for service providers.
• Q3 2026 (pilot scheduled August 2026): Taxpayers can begin exchanging, receiving and reporting e-invoices to OTA via their service providers according to the specified roll-out scheme.

Data dictionary

The first draft of the data dictionary has been shared with roll-out one participants and prospective service providers.

The dictionary builds on UBL 2.1 standards, with certain Oman-specific business terms. The draft and consultation session outlined the following:

• Scope: B2B, B2G and B2C (simplified invoicing) transactions.
• Format requirements: XML or PDF/A-3 proposed, meaning XML or XML e-invoice embedded within human-readable PDF.
• Content requirements: 53 mandatory fields are proposed in the standard tax e-invoice, with 66 additional fields required under certain conditions. 46 mandatory fields in the human-readable standard tax invoice, with 50 additional conditionally required.
• QR code and digital signatures: These are proposed to be mandatorily featured on invoices, with clarifications expected in January.
• Document types in scope: Tax invoice, simplified invoice, prepayment invoice, simplified prepayment invoice, debit note, credit note, simplified debit note and simplified credit note.

More details expected in January

The consultation suggested that an updated version of the e-invoicing data dictionary is expected in January, along with details on testbeds for service providers. In addition, further details on whether Peppol will be used as part of the 5-corner model implementation will be shared.

OTA will host similar recurrent consultations moving forward.