VAT registration for Bahrain

The Bahrain National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently issued a press release announcing that the Value Added Tax (VAT) registration process is now open for entities generating or expecting to generate annual taxable supplies of between BHD 18,750 and BHD 500,000.

Bahrain introduced VAT in a phased approach where businesses generating taxable supplies exceeding BHD 5,000,000 per year were required to register for VAT with effect from 1 January 2019.

Businesses making annual taxable supplies exceeding BHD 500,000 but less than BHD 5,000,000 were required to register from 1 July 2019.

The current wave of registrations is in respect of businesses generating annual taxable supplies of between BHD 18,750 and BHD 500,000 and they are required to register by 1 January 2020.

Implications for not registering on time 

If your company or enterprise exceeds the mandatory registration threshold under one of the above, you must apply to the NBR for VAT registration within 30 days starting from the last day of the month where you exceeded the mandatory threshold or within 30 days prior to the first day of the month where you expect to exceed the mandatory threshold. Late application for registration may result in the application of penalties of up to BHD 10,000.

How can we help?

Deloitte, through its dedicated Business Process Solutions (BPS) VAT Compliance team located centrally in Bahrain, has the capability to assist you with the following services:

VAT registration

• Completion of the registration forms
• Filing required documents with the tax authorities
• Monitoring thresholds
• De-registration when required

VAT return filing

• Assist in completing VAT returns
• Local and regionally centralized VAT compliance support
• Updates on VAT laws and regulations

Additional VAT review and queries support

• Automated checking and reconciliation exercises of transactions for VAT returns
• Assist with compliance VAT-related queries
• Complete compliance lifecycle management support

VAT refund and tax audit

• Review and support in VAT refund reclaims
• Provide support during VAT inspections