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Current Trends in Digital Contracts
Mandatory e-invoicing, qualified e-signatures, smart templates, new laws: what changes in 2026 for contracts in Tunisia and across the region.
In 2026, four shifts are changing how businesses in the region draft, sign and perform contracts: e-invoicing becomes mandatory for new groups of operators, trust services (signatures, seals, time stamps) are taking shape, contract templates are being automated, and several recent laws require templates to be updated.
This guide sets out the facts, country by country, and what they mean for your contracts.
1. E-invoicing becomes the norm
Tunisia: article 53 of the 2026 Finance Law (Law No. 2025-17 of 12 December 2025) extends mandatory e-invoicing to the provision of services from 1 January 2026. Until then the obligation mainly covered transactions with the State and public bodies, and certain sales of medicines and fuel. Joint note No. 2/2026 sets out how it applies and provides relief measures.
Saudi Arabia: on 24 July 2026 ZATCA published the criteria for wave 25 of integration with the Fatoora platform. It covers taxpayers whose VAT-able revenue exceeded SAR 187,500 in 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025, with a deadline of 1 February 2027.
United Arab Emirates: Ministerial Decisions No. 243 and No. 244 of 2025, released on 29 September 2025, set up e-invoicing. A pilot starts on 1 July 2026. Businesses with annual revenue of AED 50 million or more must appoint an accredited service provider by 31 July 2026 and go live by 1 January 2027; others by 1 July 2027. B2C transactions are excluded for now.
Morocco: the General Tax Directorate is rolling out e-invoicing in stages from 2026, starting with large companies, according to the business press (Le360, June 2026).
What e-invoicing changes for contracts
An e-invoice draws on contract data: the parties' exact identity, tax ID, purpose, price, payment dates. A vague contract produces rejected or disputed invoices.
For a service provider in Tunisia, it is worth checking that each client contract clearly describes the service, the price excluding tax, the applicable VAT and the invoicing schedule.
2. Qualified signatures and trust services
Tunisia: TunTrust, the National Electronic Certification Agency and root certification authority, offers signature certificates, electronic seals for companies, remote signing (DigiGO) and time-stamping (Tunstamp). Its stated certifications include ETSI EN 319 411-2 on qualified certificates.
Morocco: Law No. 43-20 on trust services distinguishes simple, advanced and qualified signatures. Its implementing Decree No. 2-22-687 of 16 November 2022 designates the DGSSI as the national trust services authority.
United Arab Emirates: Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 governs signatures, seals, time stamps and electronic registered delivery. Cabinet Resolution No. 28 of 2023 sets the conditions for qualified electronic time stamps.
What changes in practice
The trend is the same everywhere: moving from an image-based signature to a certificate-based, time-stamped signature for contracts that matter. Remote signing, without a physical token, makes this easier.
3. Smart contract templates
Businesses are replacing Word documents copied from one file to the next with structured templates: fields to fill in (parties, price, term), conditional clauses by country or contract type, and version history.
The benefit is legal as well as practical. When the law changes, the template is fixed once and every new contract benefits. Copy errors fall, and you know which version was signed.
4. Recent laws that require templates to be reviewed
Tunisia, employment contracts: Law No. 2025-9 of 21 May 2025 makes the open-ended contract the rule, limits fixed-term contracts to specific cases with mandatory writing, caps probation at six months renewable once and bans it in fixed-term contracts. Older employment templates need review.
Tunisia, subcontracting: the same law bans labour subcontracting; only narrowly defined service contracts remain possible. Staff-provision contracts should be re-examined.
Tunisia, tax: extending e-invoicing to services requires price and invoicing clauses to be aligned.
United Arab Emirates, employment: the job offer follows the template of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, is signed electronically by the employer, then registered as the contract.
What is moving more slowly
Blockchain and "smart contracts" remain marginal in everyday contracts in the region. The texts cited in this guide give them no specific regime: the parties' agreement remains subject to general contract and evidence law.
Deeds that require authentic form or a legalised signature, such as certain transfers of company shares in Tunisia, remain outside the scope of electronic signatures.
2026 checklist for businesses
Check whether your business falls within the e-invoicing scope in each country where you invoice.
Review Tunisian employment templates in light of Law 2025-9.
For contracts that matter, move to a certificate-based, time-stamped signature.
Centralise templates and track their versions.
Archive original signed files, not printed copies.
How E-Tafakna can help
E-Tafakna offers up-to-date contract templates and country guides, free tools such as the severance calculator and the formal-notice generator and, for Tunisia, issues TunTrust electronic signature certificates as a delegated registration authority.
Frequently asked questions
Is e-invoicing mandatory for service providers in Tunisia in 2026?
Yes. Article 53 of the 2026 Finance Law brings them into the mandatory scope from 1 January 2026. Joint note No. 2/2026 sets out how it applies and provides relief measures.
When does e-invoicing become mandatory in the UAE?
On 1 January 2027 for businesses with annual revenue of AED 50 million or more, and on 1 July 2027 for others, after a pilot starting on 1 July 2026. B2C is excluded for now.
Do we need to change our employment templates in Tunisia?
Yes, if they predate Law No. 2025-9 of 21 May 2025: open-ended contract by default, limited and written fixed-term contracts, capped probation that is banned in fixed-term contracts.
Are smart contracts recognised in the region?
The texts cited here give them no specific regime. The agreement they execute remains subject to the ordinary rules of contract and evidence.
Sources
Tunisian Law No. 2025-17 of 12 December 2025, 2026 Finance Law, art. 53; KPMG Tunisia, extension of the e-invoicing scope (kpmg.com/tn)
Tunisian Law No. 2025-9 of 21 May 2025 on employment contracts and the ban on subcontracting, Official Gazette No. 61 of 23 May 2025 (arp.tn); DLA Piper, June 2025
KPMG, Saudi Arabia: e-invoicing mandatory for taxpayers with revenue above SAR 187,500, July 2026
UAE Ministerial Decisions No. 243 and No. 244 of 2025, as presented by Baker McKenzie (October 2025)
Le360, Facturation électronique : le détail du calendrier de mise en place, 3 June 2026
Moroccan Law No. 43-20 and Decree No. 2-22-687 of 16 November 2022, Official Bulletin No. 7162 of 19 January 2023 (adala.justice.gov.ma)
UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 and Cabinet Resolution No. 28 of 2023, as presented by Charles Russell Speechlys (2026)
TunTrust, National Electronic Certification Agency (tuntrust.tn); UAE official portal (u.ae)
Draft and sign your contracts online
Templates that follow your country's law, electronic signature (including TunTrust qualified signature in Tunisia) and secure archiving.
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