Transaction type code builder

Eight binary flags in one field. Tick the ones that apply and see the code, and more usefully, what each flag makes mandatory elsewhere in the document.

This encodes decisions, it does not make them. Each flag stands for a tax conclusion your adviser or your own documented policy has already reached. Free zone, deemed supply, margin scheme, agency and continuous supply all have specific conditions, and none of them follows from a single fact about your business. If you are unsure about a flag, leave it off and ask before you invoice, rather than ticking it to see what happens.
Nothing leaves your browser. This is a lookup table with arithmetic, running on your machine.

Tick what applies

Your code

00000000

Or decode a code you were given

Paste the eight-character value from an invoice, a provider's template or a rejection message.

Why this field causes trouble

It looks like a formatting detail and behaves like a switchboard. Setting a flag does not just describe the transaction — it changes which other fields the validator demands, and a missing consequence is a fatal rejection rather than a warning.

Common mistakeWhat happens
Field left empty An empty field fails ibr-154-ae: the rule tests the value against an eight-character pattern, and an absent field does not match it. Some providers insert a default of all zeros before validation, which passes — but all zeros asserts that none of the eight situations applies to you. That is a statement about your business, not a blank.
Wrong length ibr-154-ae permits only the characters 0 and 1. Every official example carries exactly eight positions. A shorter string shifts the meaning of every flag after the gap.
Free zone flag set, no beneficiary identifier Fatal rejection under ibr-007-ae. The flag creates the obligation.
Deemed supply flag with a payment due date Fatal. A deemed supply has no payment, so a due date and a payment method must not appear (ibr-127-ae, ibr-191-ae).
Margin scheme mixed with standard lines The margin scheme requires every line to sit in the margin category. One standard-rated line invalidates the whole document.
Summary flag without a period Fatal under ibr-138-ae. A summary invoice must state the period it covers.
These flags are not mutually exclusive. A free zone company exporting under a summary invoice sets three at once, and each one adds its own requirements. It is a single field that behaves like a switchboard, and it is also the field a provider's onboarding template will simply ask you to fill in without explanation.

Deciding which flags apply is the actual work

This tool assembles the code once you know the answer. Knowing the answer means deciding whether your supply is deemed, whether your zone is designated, whether you act as agent or principal — and those are positions you have to be able to defend.

We maintain a library of thirty-two UAE operation types, each with the flag configuration, the reasoning, and the risk written down. Twenty-five carry a note that a qualified tax adviser should confirm the position before it is applied.

Send an extract and we will map your transaction types

Sources

Where this page and a source disagree, the source is right. Tell us: hello@involane.com