VAT Compliance and FAQ

Value Added Tax (VAT) – A brief introduction

What is VAT?

Value Added Tax (or VAT) is an indirect tax. Occasionally you might also see it referred to as a type of general consumption tax. In a country which has a VAT, it is imposed on most supplies of goods and services that are bought and sold.

VAT is one of the most common types of consumption tax found around the world. Over 150 countries have implemented VAT (or its equivalent, Goods and Services Tax), including all 29 European Union (EU) members, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

VAT is charged at each step of the ‘supply chain’. Ultimate consumers generally bear the VAT cost while businesses collect and account for the tax, in a way acting as a tax collector on behalf of the government.

A business pays the government the tax that it collects from the customers while it may also receive a refund from the government on tax that it has paid to its suppliers.

What is the difference between VAT and Sales Tax?

A sales tax is also a consumption tax, just like VAT. For the general public there may be no observable difference between how the two types of taxes work, but there are some key differences.

In many countries, sales taxes are only imposed on transactions involving goods. In addition, sales tax is only imposed on the final sale to the consumer. This contrasts with VAT which is imposed on goods and services and is charged throughout the supply chain, including on the final sale. VAT is also imposed on imports of goods and services so as to ensure that a level playing field is maintained for domestic providers of those same goods and services.

What kind of records are businesses required to maintain, and for how long?

Businesses will be required to keep records which will enable the Federal Tax Authority to identify the details of the business activities and review transactions. The specifics regarding the documents which will be required and the time period for keeping them will be stated in the relevant legislation.

How long must a taxable person retain VAT invoices for?

Any taxable person must retain VAT invoices issued and received for a minimum of 5 years.

What are the penalties for not complying with a business’s VAT responsibilities?

Everyone is urged to fully comply with their VAT responsibilities. The government is currently in the process of defining the exact fees and penalties for non-compliance. Administrative penalties for violations will be decided by Cabinet and announced after issuance. There will be further penalties decided by Courts in the case of tax evasion.

However our sources state that the penalties may the following (or similar to it):

• Prison sentence. Period will be determined depending on amount of tax liability.
• 5 times the amount evaded (TBD depending on amount of tax liability).

The above information has been collected from
www.mof.gov.ae/En/budget/Pages/VATQuestions.aspx
For more information please visit:
https://www.mof.gov.ae/En/budget/Pages/VATQuestions.aspx
http://tax.gov.ae/index.aspx

For more additional information please click on the link to download our VAT Documentation.