UAE President Issues new Law for Tax Procedures
- Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of UAE, has issued the landmark Federal Law No. 7 of 2017 for Tax Procedures
- The new Federal Law sets the foundations for the planned UAE tax system, regulating the administration and collection of taxes and clearly defining the role of the Federal Tax Authority
- The law covers tax procedures, audits, objections, refunds, collection, and obligations, which include tax registration, tax-return preparation, submissions, payment and voluntary disclosure rules, tax evasion and other general provisions
- When the Tax Procedures Law goes into effect, all UAE-based businesses will be required to keep accurate records for five years
- UAE will implement Value Added Tax at the rate of 5% from 1st January, 2018
- Some exceptions to VAT in UAE from 2018 include basic food items, healthcare and education
- A business in UAE must register for VAT if their taxable supplies and imports exceed the mandatory registration threshold of AED 375,000
- The Federal Law No. 7 is a follow-up from Federal Decree-Law No. 13 of 2016 on the Establishment of the Federal Tax Authority, to create the FTA and task it with executing tax laws in the UAE
- The Federal National Council (FNC) approved the draft law in March 2017, which outlined the legal framework for taxation, implementation and administration in UAE
