GCC Indirect Tax Weekly Digest

UAE VAT payments can now be settled through UAE Exchange

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) money transfer and foreign exchange company, UAE Exchange, announced on 3 June that entities registered for VAT with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) who hold a GIBAN account number can now make VAT payments to the FTA through a UAE Exchange branch.

This payment option is in addition to the existing payment options of e-Dirham, credit card or bank transfer.

UAE FTA VAT and Excise guides updated

The UAE FTA has issued updated versions of the following VAT and Excise guides. The amended guides contain a number of clarifications, particularly around process and administration. 

• Payment user guide
• VAT returns user guide
• Warehouse keeper and designated zone guide
• Excise tax user guide
• Excise tax returns user guide

If you would like to discuss the content of these guides and how the amendments may impact on your business, please reach out to Mark Junkin for VAT, or Michael Towler for excise, or your usual Deloitte contact. 

GAZT issues VAT violations against further commercial sectors

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) has issued a press release regarding its inspections carried out on food retail and wholesale vendors in the KSA. 

The violations identified during these inspections mostly related to non-compliant VAT invoices and not displaying the VAT registration certificate as required.  This is consistent with the violations identified at recent GAZT inspections of car rental businesses. 

This indicates that there is a program being conducted by GAZT of reviewing different commercial sectors in order to identify issues associated with the manner in which they operate and the documentation that they issue. This is consistent with the trend in other countries that have implemented VAT in recent years and is also an indication that GAZT are progressively obtaining a better understanding of how the different sectors in the economy operate under a VAT system, and identifying the challenges that they need to address.

If you would like to discuss the issues raised, or other KSA VAT matters, please contact Michael Camburn or your usual Deloitte contact.

Please note that this digest is for information purposes only and should not be construed as an advice. It does not necessarily cover every aspect of the topics with which it deals. You should not act upon the contents of this alert without receiving formal advice on your particular circumstances.