The UAE has released its domestic VAT Law and FTA website has been saved
Insights
The UAE has released its domestic VAT Law and FTA website
Another milestone along the journey to VAT implementation
2017 has witnessed some of the most far-reaching socio-economic changes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has experienced to date.
On Sunday 27 August, 2017, the UAE released the text of its domestic Value Added Tax (VAT) Law, shortly after releasing the text of its Excise Tax Law last week, and the Federal Tax Procedures Law (FTP) earlier this month.
The UAE Government is still planning to introduce VAT on 1 January 2018. The standard VAT rate of 5% will be applied on goods and services (e.g. food, consulting services, maintenance works etc.) that are not VAT exempt or zero-rated. Some key sectors are confirmed as having VAT reliefs such as: healthcare; education; financial services; and passenger transport; exports; and hydrocarbons (though not petrol). There are also special rules for paying import VAT, VAT grouping rules and so on.
The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) website has also been launched and can be accessed here. FTA is the government entity responsible for the collection and management of federal taxes. Businesses will be able to register online for VAT purposes from the middle of September 2017.
You can access the UAE VAT law in Arabic and English.
To provide the needed guidance to businesses in the UAE, Deloitte has organized a UAE VAT Academy in Dubai on Wednesday, 27 September and Abu Dhabi on Thursday, 28 September, 2017. The official invite with the full details will follow shortly.
