The VAT law is here

 

Planned and swift action is being undertaken to ensure the timely roll-out of VAT in U.A.E. President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued the Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 for Value-Added Tax.

This is an important law for the country and paves the way for the Executive Procedures to be published, which we can expect very soon given that the registration for VAT is expected to commence in the middle of September 2017.  This law provides greater insight on proposed VAT implementation, in fact clarifying several aspects which were prior to this in the grey area.

You can read the translated version of the VAT law on the FTA website (click here)

The notification of the Law was preceded by the launch of Federal Tax Authority website a week before, this being a key enabler for implementation of VAT.  The entire process is expected to be online i.e. registration, reporting, payment, etc and this means a dedicated portal which is what the FTA website is intended for.  The website is well laid out and has all the information that would be required for understanding and working with VAT in the country.

There is a general lethargy in the country with regard to any new law or legislation, not from the Government but from the point of view of compliance to the same on or before due date.  As explained in the previous blog the same procrastination can be seen with regard to VAT from businesses, the concerted dissemination of information and regular news releases by the Government is aimed at addressing this procrastination, but only time will tell if it is successful.  From the action post the holy month of Ramadan with regard to VAT, we are convinced that all efforts are being made to meet the launch date of 1st January, 2018., it is for the business community now to step up and support the same.

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