Future date of invoices

Compliance Position Statement – Invoice Processing Functionality

1. Regulatory Reference – South African VAT Requirements

The guidance issued by South African Revenue Service indicates that tax invoices must reflect the true date of issue and meet prescribed VAT invoice requirements.

Supporting quotation (from source):

https://www.sars.gov.za/businesses-and-employers/government/tax-invoices]”

This requirement is critical to ensure correct VAT reporting and audit integrity.

2. Risk of Backdating or Misaligned Invoice Processing

Legal commentary highlights risks associated with altering invoice chronology or backdating transactions.

Supporting quotation (from source):

https://www.webberwentzel.com/News/Pages/backdating.aspx]”

Such practices may be interpreted as attempting to influence tax periods or financial reporting outcomes.

Overview:

ERP Go/IQ recently added a new feature to allow for future dated invoices in version 2026.2.0.0.

We received numerous queries about this and we have contacted various auditors and accounting firms to get their input. 

According to SARS: https://www.sars.gov.za/businesses-and-employers/government/tax-invoices

Under the South African Value-Added Tax Act (VAT Act), a vendor must issue a tax invoice that meets certain requirements, including a date of issue and a unique serial number.

The invoice date is a prescribed part of a valid invoice — it must reflect when the invoice was actually issued, not an arbitrary future date.

Is future date invoicing permitted?

There’s no legal basis in South African VAT law to issue an invoice with a date in the future.

The invoice date must reflect the date the invoice was actually issued.

If you assign a future date to an invoice, it would not align with the statutory notion of “date of issue” and could put invoices out of compliance with SARS requirements.

Risk of Backdating or Misaligned Invoice Processing

There is guidance and case law cautioning against backdating (assigning a date earlier than when the invoice was actually created) when done to influence tax outcomes — this has been treated as potentially fraudulent. While this specifically refers to backdating, the principle is that the invoice date must reflect reality.

Practical and Compliance Risks of Future Dating

In accounting terms, the invoice date determines when the revenue is recognised and impacts accounting periods (cut-off, ageing, VAT periods, etc.).

If a vendor issues an invoice with a future date, the transaction may be viewed by SARS as mis-dated or non-compliant, especially if VAT returns or input claims hinge on invoice dates.

For VAT compliance, the time of supply for VAT purposes is often tied to the earlier of the date of supply or payment/issue of invoice — misdating could distort this and trigger penalties.

Summary

Invoice dates must reflect the actual date of issuance.

There is no provision that allows future-dating an invoice to post-date supplies or VAT accounting.

Issuing invoices with incorrect dates (forward or backward) can lead to non-compliance and possible tax penalties or audit problems under South African tax law.

SARS compliance risk – functionality recommendation
Due to compliance risks associated with VAT invoice regulation and audit governance requirements, the process is not endorsed for production use.

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