English text status

English translation published by the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission. The Arabic text published in the Official Gazette remains the legal reference in the event of any discrepancy.

Practical summary

Where a post-invoice event under Article (28) changes the Supply value, the supplier issues a credit note if the original VAT was too high or a debit note if it was too low. The correcting document is treated like the original Tax Invoice.

Who should read this?

Taxable Persons, finance teams and advisers applying this Article to a Bahrain VAT position.

Why does it matter?

Correct the invoice through a traceable credit or debit note, not by silently deleting or replacing it.

Credit noteDebit noteOriginal-invoice link

Current text

A Taxable Person who, adjusts the value of a Supply if any events included in Article (28) of this law occurs after issuance of the Tax Invoice provided that this adjustment is included in a document that corrects the original Tax Invoice in accordance with the following: If the Tax amount shown in the original invoice exceeds the actual value of the Supply, the Taxable Person who has made the Supply shall issue aa Credit Note to the Customer. If the Tax amount shown in the original invoice is lower than the actual value of the Supply, the Taxable Person who has made the Supply shall issue a Debit Note to the Customer. In all cases, such document shall be treated in the same manner as the original Tax Invoice.

Application steps

  1. 1

    Identify the value-changing event and date.

  2. 2

    Compare original and correct VAT to select a credit or debit note.

  3. 3

    Link the note to the original invoice and correct reporting period.

Connected provisions

Direct legislative link

Regulations — Article (54)

Related Regulations Article (54)

This provision supplies the linked rule or procedure needed to apply the Article correctly.

Open connected Article

Official guides and tools

Official text

Value Added Tax Law

Article (41)

Official guide

VAT General Guide

Practical guidance relevant to the Article

Connected Madar tools

Connected Madar tools

Tax Invoice Centre

Review the document, correction and invoice evidence required.

Illustrative example by Madar

Return after an invoice

If a customer returns part of the Goods and the Consideration and VAT decrease, the supplier issues a Credit Note. A later increase ordinarily requires a Debit Note linked to the original invoice.

Questions to help you apply it

  • Was original VAT too high or too low?
  • Do the note and return reflect the same correction?