Bahrain published VAT law in Arabic

The Kingdom of Bahrain (Bahrain) government has published the Arabic version of its Value Added Tax (VAT) law. As previously announced, the legislation is due to take effect on the VAT implementation date of 1 January 2019.

The VAT Law states that detailed Regulations will also be published, however it states these are expected to be issued within 15 days after the effective date of VAT on 1 January 2019.

Deloitte is currently in the process of producing an unofficial English translation of the law for reference purposes. This will be made available as soon as possible, bearing in mind the importance of doing so for non-Arabic speakers.

While we expect the Bahrain government to publish an official English translation in the coming weeks or months, businesses making supplies in Bahrain should take action as soon as possible to ensure that they are in compliance with the law on the implementation date.

As such it appears that this may be the only legislation available to businesses prior to the implementation date itself. As such, its contents are critical to ensuring a successful VAT implementation project and the time to begin preparations is now. Given our experience with the implementation of VAT in KSA and UAE, as well as elsewhere, we are well placed to assist where, and to the extent required by business.