ZATCA e-invoice archiving requirements for Saudi WooCommerce stores

Saudi businesses must generally keep e-invoices and related tax records for at least six years from the end of the tax period they belong to, with a longer rule for certain capital asset records. (Source: VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66) ZATCA allows electronic storage, including cloud storage, subject to requirements for access from Saudi Arabia, record integrity and the prescribed electronic formats. (Sources: Detailed Guidelines, section 5.4, Detailed Guidelines, section 5.5 and ZATCA E-Invoicing FAQ)

For a WooCommerce store, this means keeping the original electronic documents available after an order is completed, refunded or moved to another hosting provider.

How long you must keep e-invoices

Article 66(1) of Saudi Arabia's VAT Implementing Regulations requires invoices, accounting records and supporting documents to be kept for a "minimum period of six (6) years" from the end of the relevant tax period. Source: VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66

The clock starts at the end of the tax period to which the record relates. It does not necessarily start on the date the invoice was issued. This distinction matters when you decide which older records can eventually be removed from your archive.

Article 66 also contains a different retention rule for records concerning capital assets. Those records must be retained for the relevant capital asset adjustment period under Article 52, plus five years, calculated from the asset's acquisition date.

Source: VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66

ZATCA's published e-invoicing FAQ confirms that electronic invoices follow the retention periods in the VAT Implementing Regulations. The FAQ does not create a separate, shorter period for electronic invoices.

Source: ZATCA E-Invoicing FAQ

Treat six years as the general minimum, rather than an automatic deletion date. Review any longer requirement that applies to your records before removing them.

Which documents must be retained

The E-Invoicing Regulation links electronic invoices and notes to the record-keeping provisions of Article 66. Article 4 specifically applies the existing tax invoice and record-keeping rules to electronic invoices and their associated notes.

Source: E-Invoicing Regulation, Article 4

The E-Invoicing Implementation Resolution, under its section titled "Fifth", requires taxpayers to retain electronic invoices, electronic notes and associated data. It also requires taxpayers to provide these records to ZATCA when requested for verification.

Source: E-Invoicing Implementation Resolution, Decision No. 62738

For your WooCommerce store, keep an archive covering:

• Electronic invoices issued for paid orders.
• Electronic credit notes issued for refunds.
• The original signed XML documents.
• Related invoice data needed to identify and retrieve each document.
• Available ZATCA submission responses, so you can review what happened when a document was sent.

The first four items follow the published record-keeping and electronic invoice requirements. Keeping ZATCA API responses alongside your documents is an additional practical measure. The official sources reviewed do not specify a separate minimum retention period for those API responses as individual files.

The required electronic format

ZATCA Phase 2 uses structured electronic invoices. The E-Invoicing Implementation Resolution, issued as Governor Decision No. 62738 dated 23/11/1443H (English version dated May 2023), specifies XML for invoice generation and transmission during the Integration Phase. PDF/A-3 with embedded XML is permitted as an optional human-readable format for sharing invoices.

Source: E-Invoicing Implementation Resolution, Decision No. 62738 Section 5.4 of the Detailed Guidelines also explains that the system must support saving and archiving electronic invoices and notes in XML format without an internet connection. Source: ZATCA Detailed Guidelines for E-Invoicing

Keep the original XML rather than relying on a printed invoice or a screenshot of the QR code. A customer-facing copy is useful for reading, but your archive must retain the structured electronic document required by ZATCA.

File names used for archival exports

Annex 1 of the Implementation Resolution specifies that exported invoice and note files for archival purposes should have names containing:

• VAT registration number.
• Document issuance date.
• Document issuance time.
• Invoice or note reference number.

Source: E-Invoicing Implementation Resolution, Decision No. 62738

Check this naming requirement when selecting an archival system or preparing exported files. ZATCA's XML Implementation Standard, section 14, specifies the archive file name pattern SellerVAT_YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS_IRN.xml. Characters in the invoice number that are not letters or digits are replaced with hyphens. ZATCA gives 3xxxxxxxxx1xxx3_20210526T132400_2021-05-26-23555.xml as an example. Source: XML Implementation Standard, section 14.

Raseedo Pro follows this pattern when exporting signed XML files in a ZIP archive. It reads the seller VAT number, issue date and time, and invoice number from each signed XML document. Files from Sandbox and Simulation are placed in folders named after their environments.

Where electronic invoice records can be stored

Section 5.5 of ZATCA's Detailed Guidelines permits storing electronic invoices "on-premises in the KSA or in the cloud", subject to the applicable Saudi laws and regulations. Source: ZATCA Detailed Guidelines for E-Invoicing Article 66(3) of the VAT Implementing Regulations requires records to be kept in Saudi Arabia physically or through electronic access to the relevant server or database from an access point in the Kingdom.

Source: VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66 ZATCA's FAQ clarifies that when a cloud service or data centre outside Saudi Arabia is used, access to the relevant records must be available at the taxpayer's branch in the Kingdom. Source: ZATCA E-Invoicing FAQ

Section 5.4 of the Detailed Guidelines also states that cloud-hosted data must be accessible through a direct link that can be provided to ZATCA for audit purposes. Source: ZATCA Detailed Guidelines for E-Invoicing

If your WordPress hosting is outside Saudi Arabia, review how your business will access and produce the records from within the Kingdom. ZATCA also notes that other applicable cybersecurity and data regulations may impose further requirements.

Protecting records against changes and deletion

Section 5.6 (Prohibited Functions) of ZATCA's Detailed Guidelines prohibits changing or deleting issued electronic invoices and associated notes. It also prohibits modifying system logs.

Source: ZATCA Detailed Guidelines for E-Invoicing

When an issued invoice needs correcting, preserve the original and use the appropriate associated credit note. Removing an old document from WordPress does not correct the tax record.

Article 66 also requires appropriate security measures and controls to prevent tampering with electronic records, and requires records to be accessible and producible when ZATCA requests them. Source: VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66 These requirements should guide how you manage access to your store's invoice archive and its backups.

How Raseedo stores WooCommerce e-invoices

Raseedo keeps every signed XML document on your own WordPress site, together with its latest status from ZATCA and validation messages, including warnings and errors. The free plugin creates a simplified tax invoice for each paid order in Saudi riyals (SAR), once the store is onboarded and "Issue e-invoices" is enabled. It signs the invoice using your store's certificate and submits it through ZATCA's Fatoora API. With Raseedo Pro, an order with a valid buyer VAT number and complete buyer details gets a standard tax invoice cleared by ZATCA.

Refunds generate credit notes referencing the original invoices. The original invoice remains part of the store's records.

The plugin also maintains an invoice counter (ICV) and previous invoice hash (PIH). Documents are generated one at a time to preserve their sequence.

Under WooCommerce > ZATCA E-Invoicing, the E-invoices tab shows the documents and any rejection reasons returned by ZATCA. This gives your finance staff a place to review submission problems.

Uninstalling Raseedo preserves the stored documents unless you explicitly choose to delete everything. However, this retention behaviour does not replace your responsibility to maintain backups and access to the records for the required period.

A practical archive routine for your store

Use the following checks as part of your regular store maintenance.

1. Back up your WordPress database and the data required to restore the full store. Confirm that your signed XML documents, their latest ZATCA status and validation messages (warnings and errors) are included.
2. Keep a separate backup copy. A backup stored only with the live website can be lost during a hosting failure.
3. Test restoring a backup and retrieving older documents. A backup is useful only when its records can be recovered.
4. Review the E-invoices tab for rejected documents. Raseedo records ZATCA rejection reasons and retries transmission problems in the background.
5. Preserve credit notes alongside their original invoices. Keep the connection between the refund and the original order.
6. Review archival exports before relying on them for long-term storage.

Raseedo Pro can export a ZIP archive of signed XML files for any selected date range. This can support a separate archival process outside your live WordPress installation.

The Pro export does not replace your wider accounting records or the requirement to produce records when ZATCA requests them.

What the official sources do not specify

The sources reviewed do not prescribe a particular WordPress backup plugin, a fixed backup frequency or a named cloud hosting provider.

They also do not establish that a WooCommerce database backup alone satisfies every archival obligation. Your business still needs to consider accessibility, security, document integrity and the applicable retention period.

Raseedo stores signed XML documents, together with their latest ZATCA status and validation messages, including warnings and errors. The suitability of your complete storage arrangement depends on your hosting, backup process and relevant legal requirements.

This article explains published ZATCA requirements and practical store management. It is not legal advice.

Sources

1. VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66. Retention periods, Arabic records, electronic storage and access requirements.
2. E-Invoicing Regulation, Article 4. Application of VAT record-keeping rules to electronic invoices and notes.
3. E-Invoicing Implementation Resolution, Governor Decision No. 62738 dated 23/11/1443H. English version dated May 2023. Record-keeping obligations, electronic formats and archival export requirements.
4. Detailed Guidelines for E-Invoicing, version 2. Sections 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 and 7.3 covering security, storage, prohibited functions and archival requirements.
5. ZATCA E-Invoicing FAQ. Published answers concerning retention periods and data residency.

The English VAT Implementing Regulations and Implementation Resolution referenced above are unofficial translations. The official Arabic text takes precedence where the versions differ.