Guide · DGI · e-MECeF
The e-MECeF normalized invoice, explained
Under article 481 of the CGI, every taxpayer in Benin must issue a normalized invoice. It is not a homemade PDF: it is a DGI-validated document with a fiscal identifier and QR code. Here is what that means when you take payment, in a restaurant as in a shop, and what billing software must do.
What the law requires
Every sale to a customer must produce a normalized invoice through e-MECeF (or a physical MECeF). The fine is at least 1,000,000 FCFA per sale without an invoice. A till ticket without a DGI seal is not a tax invoice.
What a compliant invoice contains
The seller’s TIN, line items, tax groups A–F, tax-inclusive total, then what the DGI returns: MCF code, counter, QR code. Without that validation the document cannot legally circulate. e-MECeF is the software path: no extra box if the software is approved.
The Z-Report is not an extra
End-of-day close produces the Z report an auditor or accountant expects. A register that “does the math” without archiving that report leaves the business exposed at the first inspection.
What Kori POS automates
On payment, Kori POS sends the invoice to the DGI. If e-MECeF is unreachable, the invoice queues and issues when the service returns — once. Z-Report, tax groups and the sales log are in the free plan. Assisted e-MECeF setup starts at Essential.
Common questions
- Do I still need a MECeF box?
- Not if you use approved e-MECeF software. Kori POS is that software: normalization goes through the DGI API, not a box plugged into the till.
- Must every sale be invoiced, even a small one?
- Yes. The duty covers every taxpayer, food service as much as retail. Every payment must produce a normalized invoice — a table’s check as much as an item sold over the counter — and not only B2B sales.
- What happens with no network?
- You keep taking payment. Invoices wait on the device and go to the DGI when the network returns, without being issued twice.
- Is the free plan enough to stay compliant?
- Yes, for counter sales with a normalized invoice, Z-Report and tax groups. The business modules are paid, and some of them are restaurant-only. None is a condition of compliance.