Value Added Tax (VAT) is currently the most widely recognized form of consumption tax system used around the world. In spite of the fact that the principles of the tax are broadly the same everywhere, the rules can be enacted and implemented differently in different countries so that the compliance burden on business varies considerably. The UAE had reported its goalto the introduce value added tax (VAT) in the country starting January 1, 2018. The issuance of the final tax law has set the stage for implementation of VAT and meeting the implementation deadline.
The UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, His Excellency Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, has stated that the UAE will implement VAT at the rate of 5% on 1 January 2018.UAE issued a tax Law covering common procedures for taxes which will help people in understanding and implementing VAT effectively.
The UAE will take its first step towards implementing VAT in the nationon 1st October 2017, when between 50% and 100% tax will be added to cigarettes, tobacco and sugary drinks but UAE will implement VAT from 1st January 2018 at a very low rate of 5%.
January 1st, 2018 will be the day the UAE implements VAT in its country, The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has announced that Businesses can start registering for VAT three months before this date, that is, from October 1, 2017 and all those businesses with an annual turnover of Dh375,000 must go for online registration through the authority's website in January 2018at a standard rate of 5 per centto non-essential consumer goods. All you need to know is the procedure how to get register for VAT in UAE which is given below.
VAT is about to be coming into effect from 1st January 2018. The VAT rate is trimmed down to the standard rate of 5% unless explicitly put under the exempt category. It is one of the most common types of general consumption tax and has been successfully implemented in different parts of the world.
VAT will be a new avenue of raising revenues for governments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).It is estimated that the UAE will generate more than Dh12 billion additional revenues in the first year after implementation of this new tax regime. GCC countries have decided to implement taxation as part of the governments' efforts to diversify revenues in the context of a sharp decline in oil prices.
The Reverse Charge moves the responsibility for the reporting of a VAT transaction from the seller to the buyer of a good or service. This reduces the requirement for sellers to register for VAT in the country where the supply is made. In the UAE VAT, the Reverse Charge Mechanism is applicable while importing goods or services from outside the GCC countries. Under this, the businesses will not have to physically pay VAT at the terms of import.
VAT is to be actualized in the UAE with impact from first January 2018 where it is still not clear about on how VAT Invoices should be maintained for every business in the UAE as per the latest information by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). According to the FTA (Federal Tax Authority), there will be two kinds of invoices for VAT in the UAE.
External auditors play a critical role in validating company financial information. Potential lenders and investors often require externally audited financial statements before doing business with a company.so it is really important for the companies to get their accounts audited.
Introduction of VAT is taken as a positive and a very strong step of UAE government as it is estimated that the introduction of VAT could generate Dh12 billion in its first year and Dh20 billion in its second year, but with that jurisdictions have set out thresholds depending on turnover or other transaction-specific criteria, but once the mandated threshold is exceeded VAT registration becomes mandatory.