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UAE-resident businesses who make taxable supplies in the UAE must mandatorily register for VAT, provided the value of their taxable supplies and imports in the last 12 months exceeded, or is expected to exceed in the next 30 days, the mandatory registration threshold of AED375,000. Non-UAE-resident businesses who make taxable supplies in the UAE must also mandatorily register for VAT, regardless of the value of its taxable supplies and imports, where there is no other person obligated to pay the due tax on these supplies in the UAE.

UAE-resident businesses who make taxable supplies in the UAE may voluntarily register for VAT if the value of their taxable supplies and imports, or taxable expenses, incurred in any past period of 12 months or less exceeded, or is expected to exceed in the next 30 days, the voluntary registration threshold of AED187,500.

A person required to register for VAT needs to submit a registration application to the FTA within 30 days of reaching the Mandatory threshold). Registration applications will be submitted via the EmaraTax portal.

(Mandatory registration) You will be required to be registered when the VAT law is in force if you are a business that is resident in the GCC and you are making supplies of goods or services in the UAE and either: 1)Your taxable supplies was more than AED375,000 in in any past period of 12 months or less; or 2)You expect that your taxable supplies will be more than AED375,000 in the next 30 days. There is no registration threshold for foreign businesses who do not have a Place of Residence in the UAE and are making or expect to make supplies of goods or services in the UAE and there is no other person who is required to account for the VAT due in the UAE on their behalf. (Voluntary registration) If you are not required to register, you will be eligible to apply for registration when the VAT law is in force if: 1)You expect that either your taxable supplies or expenses were more than AED187,500 in the last 12 months or less; or 2) Your taxable supplies or expenses will be more than AED187,500 in the next 30 days.

When calculating the taxable turnover figure, you must include the following: •Taxable supplies oStandard rated supplies oZero-rated supplies oDeemed supplies •Imported goods and services Note: oDo not include the value of exempt supplies oDo not include the value of imports if you are not a resident in the UAE and your customer is responsible for accounting for VAT under the reverse charge oIf you have purchased all or part of a business, Taxable Supplies made by the acquired whole or part of the business needs to be included accordingly oThe figure must only be reported in UAE Dirhams (AED) oThe taxable turnover starting from the trade license issue date or VAT commencement date in UAE — whichever is later — should be provided as part of the VAT registration application

•Only those expenses that are subject to VAT can be included. Include purchases of goods and services which are subject to UAE VAT. •Exclude purchases of goods and services which are: oExempted from UAE VAT; or oOut of scope of UAE VAT Note: oThe figure must only be reported in UAE Dirhams (AED) oThe taxable expenses starting from the trade license issue date or VAT commencement date in UAE — whichever is later — should be provided as part of the registration application

This information allows the FTA to understand whether or not you will generally be in a position for VAT payment or VAT refund.

Exempt Supplies include the following: •Supplies of certain financial services •Supplies of residential buildings other than the first sale •The supply of bare land •The supply of local passenger transport

When you register for VAT, you are registering the person that is operating a business, not the business itself. A person can be an individual (i.e., operating as a sole trader), or a legal person or another form of entity (e.g., an unincorporated body such as a charity or club, a partnership or trust). A VAT registration covers ALL of the business activities undertaken by the registered person. When you apply for VAT registration, we will ask you for information relating to the person that is to be registered and the current/intended business activities of that person.

If you qualify to join a Tax Group (if resident in the UAE, associated and which meet specific control criteria) and you do not have an existing VAT TRN, please select the relevant question within this application so you could be provided with the corresponding Tax Identification Number VAT Group (TINVG) with which you can request the prospective representative member to add you to the Tax Group.

If you quality to apply for VAT registration exception, please select the relevant question within this application and provide supporting documents so you could be provided with the corresponding Tax Identification Number Exception (TINXC).

Yes. You will be allocated a different Tax Registration Number TRN for VAT purposes if your application for registration is successful. If you have registered for Excise Tax before, you may find the process faster as some of the related and common profile related information will be prepopulated.

No. You can only hold one TRN for VAT purposes at any one time. It is your responsibility to ensure that duplicate applications are not submitted.

The application can be submitted to FTA by you, your tax agent or legal representative.

Yes, you can save the in-progress application (as a draft) and complete it at a later point in time. However, if you do not submit your application within 60 calendar days of initiating it, your application will be automatically cancelled. There will be reminder notifications sent to your registered email address/verified mobile number.

Generally, the estimated time to complete the application by the FTA is 20 business days from the date the completed application was received by the FTA. However, in case where any additional information is needed, FTA may take additional time to process the application. The applicant needs to provide the additional information and re-submit the application. It may take the FTA a further 20 business days to respond to the updated application. If the application is not resubmitted within 60 calendar days from the date you received the notification from FTA, the application shall be auto-rejected.

1.Processing your application: a)Your application will now be reviewed by the FTA. If we require more information to assist with our review, we will contact you by email. You will need to provide the information requested in order for us to continue processing your application. b)Once we have completed our review, we will either approve or, in some cases, may have to reject the application. We will notify you by email of our decision. c)Where we reject an application, we will provide you with the reasons for doing so. You may re-apply but only once you have resolved the matters brought to your attention. 2.VAT registration certificate: a)Following approval of your registration application you will be registered for VAT, and a VAT TRN (Tax Registration Number), Generated International Bank Account Number (GIBAN) and registration certificate shall be issued to you. You can download the registration certificate from your EmaraTax account. b)If FTA has excepted you from VAT registration, you shall be issued a TINXC number (Tax Identification Number excepted from VAT). However, a registration certificate shall not be issued for registration exception. Important notes: 1.The status of your application will be updated in the dashboard of your EmaraTax account. You can check it at any time by log in to the EmaraTax portal. 2.You could be liable for a late registration administrative penalty if we determine that you failed to register for VAT on time. A late registration administrative penalty of AED 10,000 could be imposed for failure to submit the application within 30 calendar days of being required to register. You can make a payment using the GIBAN or other payment options towards the settlement of any outstanding VAT or penalties. In case you have submitted the application to join a Tax Group, you will be issued a TIN (TINVG) immediately upon submission of the application. Your application will be reviewed by the FTA when the Tax Group representative submits a Tax Group registration/amendment application in which your TINVG is included.

If you fail to notify the FTA of a requirement to register for VAT within the timeframe specified in the Tax Law, an administrative penalty of AED10,000 will be charged against you. The FTA may issue a tax assessment to collect any potentially underpaid VAT.

The application status can be viewed on the applicant’s dashboard in EmaraTax portal. The following provides a summary of the application statuses: •Drafted: You have not completed or submitted the application form •In Review: Your application form has been received by the FTA and is under processing •Awaiting Information: You need to provide additional information to the FTA •Rejected: Your application form has been rejected by the FTA •Approved: Your application form has been approved by the FTA and you are registered for VAT

The refund request must be submitted with the FTA within 12 months from the date of completion of the newly built residence which is the earlier of the date: • The residence becomes occupied; or • When it is certified as completed by a competent authority in the UAE (the building completion certificate).

You are required to submit a refund form along with supporting documentation within 12 months from the date of completion of the newly built residence. Requests submitted after 12 months have elapsed from the date of completion as per the building completion certificate will generally be rejected. However, in certain instances, the request may still be accepted.

Where the refund application is submitted post the stipulated due date, the request may still be accepted in certain instances such as when: •The applicant can’t submit the refund due to involvement in military service or due to illness. •There is any legal dispute to the new residence. •Due to some technical issue which made the residence not to occupy even after obtaining the completion certificate.

In order for a refund claim to be considered by the FTA, it must meet the following conditions: •Expenses must relate to a newly constructed building which is to be used solely as a residence of the applicant and/ or his/ her family. •Services provided by contractors, including services of builders, architects, engineers, and other similar services necessary for the successful construction of a residence. •Building materials, being goods of a type normally incorporated by builders in a residential building or its site, but not including furniture or electrical appliances.

The UAE national can claim VAT against construction related expenses, but the list excludes the following: •Furniture •Electrical appliances •Landscaping, such as trees, grass and plants •Garden furniture and ornaments and sheds •Swimming pools •Children play structures

The applicant may request a refund for more than one residence; however, a separate request must be filed for each residence. Moreover, each request must meet the requirements on an independent basis.

No. You can only submit one refund request per residence, unless the refund is in relation to the retention payment, in which case the same residence will have a total of two refund requests.

A claim may not be made in connection with a building that will not be used solely as a residence, for example as a hotel, guest house, hospital or for other similar purposes. Should the building be used for any purpose other than being the residence of a UAE national after receiving the special refund, the FTA will require the applicant to repay any VAT refunded to him as a result of breaching the above condition.

The estimated time to complete the application by the FTA is 20 business days from receipt of a completed request. In certain instances, however, the FTA may require additional time to process your request and the FTA will inform you when this is required. If the request submitted is incomplete and the FTA requires additional information, you will need to provide the additional information and re-submit the application and once submitted the time process will reset.

Once your claim is approved, the FTA will aim to issue the refund within 5 business days. The refund will be paid in United Arab Emirates dirhams (AED). Please note that the actual transfer of the funds and receipt of the payment will depend on the receiving bank. The receiving bank may also impose additional charges.

You will not be eligible for VAT refund under this special scheme if any of the following is met: •Foreign businesses that make taxable supplies in the UAE, unless their customers can account for VAT under reverse charge mechanism •The input tax incurred on the goods or services is non-recoverable by the taxable person as per the UAE VAT Law, e.g., entertainment and motor vehicles available for personal use •The foreign business is from a country that doesn’t allow VAT refunds to UAE entities under similar situations •The foreign business is a non-resident tour operator.

The period of each refund claim shall be a calendar year. Refund applications are accepted from 1 March (i.e. for the period 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2020, applications are accepted from 1 March 2021). The last day for submission of refund claims is 31 August of each year.

Each request for a VAT refund must be for a minimum amount of AED 2000, which may consist of a single purchase or multiple purchases. Any requests for refund for a total amount less than AED 2000 will not be accepted.

Your application will be processed within 4 months of submission from receipt of a completed request. In certain instances, however, the FTA may require additional time to process your request and the FTA will inform you when this is required. If the request submitted is incomplete and the FTA requires additional information, you will need to provide the additional information and re-submit the application and once submitted the time process will reset.

You can upload scanned copies of invoices and other supporting documents. Original hard copies of all invoices (with proof of payment) still must be sent along with your application. System-generated and scanned tax invoices will also be accepted as original. All invoices require a proof of payment in the form of a receipt attached to the invoice or stamp of invoice as “paid” with the supplier’s details mentioned on the stamp.

•A Tax Agency is a legal entity which is licensed to operate as a Tax Agency and has registered with the FTA as a Tax Agency. •Once registered, a Tax Agency can operate provided that it has at least one registered Tax Agent associated with it.

Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII), which can also be known as Errors and Omissions [E&O] insurance, is a form of liability insurance that helps protect individuals who provide professional advice and services from incurring legal and other costs (such as damages awarded in a civil lawsuit) as a result of a negligence claim raised by a client. In practice, PII is usually arranged by the Tax Agencies (the umbrella company where the tax practice is carried out) rather than by the Tax Agent. Hence, the FTA does not require you to submit your PII contract at the time you apply for registration. You will be requested to provide this information each time you apply to link a registered Tax Agent.

The concept of Tax Agent is to help businesses to be compliant in respect of their tax obligations: •A person is allowed to appoint another person(s) as its Tax Agent(s) to act in his name and on his behalf with regards to his tax affairs with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). •A Tax Agent assists the person in the fulfilment of his tax obligations and the exercise of his associated tax rights.

A Tax Agent is usually engaged by his or her clients through the Tax Agency with which he or she is associated in order to provide tax related services which could include: •Helping the businesses register with the FTA; •Preparing and submitting tax returns to the FTA on behalf of the businesses; •Maintaining tax related records and/or information; •Enquiring about tax related matters with the FTA; and •Submitting requests for reconsideration of decisions issued by the FTA

1.Processing your application: a)Your application will now be reviewed by us. If we require more information to assist with our review, we will contact you by email. You will need to provide the information requested for us to continue processing your application. b)Once we have completed our review, we will either approve or, in some cases, may have to reject the application. We will notify you by email of our decision. c)Where we reject an application, we will provide you with the reasons for doing so. You may re-apply but only once you have resolved the matters brought to your attention. 2.Tax Agency “To Whom It May Concern” letter : a)Once the FTA approves your application, You will be issued a “Tax Agency To Whom It May Concern” letter and notified via email and SMS. You can download this letter from your EmaraTax account. Please note that this is only a provisional Tax Agency registration, and you cannot operate as a Tax Agency at this stage. 3.Tax Agency registration certificate: a)You should apply to the FTA requesting to registered Tax Agent you wish to link to your Tax Agency. Once the request to link to the Tax Agent is sent to the FTA, the FTA will review this. If the FTA approves the linkage, your Tax Agency Number (TAN) will be issued, and the Tax Agent will be linked to your Tax Agency. A Tax Agency registration certificate will be issued by us and notified to you via email and SMS. You can download this letter from your EmaraTax account. The linked Tax Agent along with your Tax Agency details will be listed in the FTA Tax Agent Register and published in the FTA website (http://www.tax.gov.ae) Important Notes: 1.The status of your application will be updated in the dashboard of your taxpayer portal. You can check it at any time by log in to your taxpayer portal. 2.The Tax Agency “to whom It May Concern letter” does not grant you to operate as a Tax Agency. Your Tax Agency must be associated with at least one registered Tax Agent to operate.

To review the status of your submitted application, click on the dashboard tab and look next to Status: •Drafted: You have not completed or submitted the application form •In Review: Your application form has been received by FTA and is under processing •Awaiting Information: You need to provide additional information to the FTA •Rejected: Your application form has been rejected by the FTA •Awaiting Tax Agent Linking - Your application form has been provisionally approved by the FTA and awaiting a Tax Agent to be linked