UAE Value Added Tax at 5%, introduced under Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017, has been in force since January 2018. In that time, the FTA has steadily expanded its audit activity, clarified its expectations through public clarifications and guides, and issued penalties across a wide range of compliance failures, from late registration and incorrect return filing to inadequate tax invoice format and failure to maintain adequate records.
CashLaw Global provides comprehensive VAT compliance services covering registration, quarterly and monthly return preparation and filing, input tax recovery maximisation, voluntary disclosure preparation for prior period corrections, and FTA audit representation. Our VAT team reviews each client's VAT position thoroughly before any return is filed, identifying misclassified supplies, unrecovered input tax and documentation gaps.
Book a free consultation with our team and get expert guidance on value added tax (vat) in the UAE.
Book Free ConsultationMandatory VAT registration is required if your taxable turnover and imports exceeded AED 375,000 over the preceding 12 months or are anticipated to exceed it in the next 30 days. Voluntary registration can be pursued if your turnover or taxable expenses exceed AED 187,500.
Under the latest Tax Procedures Law framework, the standard limitation period for the FTA to conduct an audit or issue a tax assessment is 5 years from the end of the relevant tax period. Businesses must retain all valid tax invoices and financial logs for a minimum of 7 years to ensure full compliance.
When importing taxable services from overseas, the UAE recipient must account for the applicable VAT via the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) on their regular tax return. This requires mapping your ERP configurations to ensure that input tax and output tax are declared simultaneously within the correct tax filing cycle.