Kuwait VAT and Excise updates

The Kuwaiti Parliament Budget Committee confirmed, in a meeting this week, that the introduction of Value Added Tax (“VAT”) will not take place until 2021. Instead, the Kuwait government intend to focus their efforts on bringing Excise Tax into effect on selected products such as tobacco, energy drinks and carbonated drinks.

A statement confirming the proposed plans (which is currently only available in Arabic), has been published on the website of the Kuwait National Assembly.

A lot of work will need to be done to make sure that the introduction of VAT and excise tax is clear, effective and efficient. We would advise clients to take the opportunity to continue preparing for the introduction of VAT in Kuwait, and accelerate implementation plans for excise tax. We will provide further updates as soon as information is available.