VAT Services in Dubai

Only those businesses crossing the defined annual aggregate turnover threshold are liable to register under VAT. Based on the registration threshold, a business will either be mandated to register or as an option, a business can apply for registration or can seek exemption from VAT registration

On this basis, VAT registration in UAE can be classified into the following:

• Mandatory VAT Registration
• Voluntary VAT Registration
• Exemption from VAT Registration

In UAE VAT, businesses whose annual turnover exceeds the mandatory registration threshold of AED 375,000 and the voluntary registration threshold of AED 187,500 are allowed to apply for VAT registration. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to understand what type of supplies are considered in deriving the annual supplies turnover and how to calculate the VAT turnover for registration in UAE.

In UAE VAT, any person conducting business is not allowed to have more than one Tax Registration Number (TRN), unless otherwise prescribed in the UAE Executive Regulation. Thus, even if you are operating via branches in more than one Emirate, only one VAT registration is required. With a similar objective, if two or more persons are related or associated parties in the businesses, they are allowed to apply for VAT group registration.

VAT-registered businesses collect the amount on behalf of the government; consumers bear the VAT in the form of a 5 per cent increase in the cost of taxable goods and services they purchase in the UAE.

UAE imposes VAT on tax-registered businesses at a rate of 5 per cent on a taxable supply of goods or services at each step of the supply chain.

Tourists in the UAE also pay VAT at the point of sale. 

VAT applies equally on tax-registered businesses managed on the UAE mainland and in the free zones. However, if the UAE Cabinet defines a certain free zone as a ‘designated zone’, it must be treated as outside the UAE for tax purposes. The transfer of goods between designated zones are tax-free.

At the end of each tax period, VAT registered businesses or the ‘taxable persons’ must submit a ‘VAT return’ to Federal Tax Authority (FTA).

A VAT return summarises the value of the supplies and purchases a taxable person has made during the tax period, and shows the taxable person’s VAT liability.

Taxable businesses must file VAT returns with FTA on a regular basis and usually within 28 days of the end of the ‘tax period’ as defined for each type of business. A ‘tax period’ is a specific period of time for which the payable tax shall be calculated and paid. The standard tax period is:

• quarterly for businesses with an annual turnover below AED150 million
• monthly for businesses with an annual turnover of AED150 million or more.