VAT & Excise
VAT has been live in the UAE since 2018, long enough for the FTA to know exactly where businesses go wrong. Most VAT problems are transaction mapping problems: the rate was decided once, years ago, and nobody has checked it since. We check.
Supplier verification under FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026 starts on 1 October. Read the requirements, exceptions and preparation checklist before reviewing your next input VAT claim.
The essentials
| Item | Position |
|---|---|
| Standard rate | 5% on most supplies of goods and services in the UAE. |
| Mandatory registration | Taxable supplies and imports above AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or expected within the next 30 days. |
| Voluntary registration | Available from AED 187,500, often worthwhile to recover input VAT. |
| Filing | Quarterly for most businesses, monthly for larger ones. Return and payment due within 28 days of the period end. |
| Excise | 100% on tobacco, e-cigarettes, and energy drinks; 50% on carbonated and sweetened drinks. No registration threshold, filed monthly: see Excise Tax. |
Where the risk hides
Zero-rated and exempt both mean no VAT on the invoice, but they are worlds apart for input VAT recovery, and misclassification compounds every filing period. The same applies to place-of-supply calls on cross-border services, reverse charge on imports, and free zone designated-zone rules. Refund claims deserve special care: they are the single most common trigger for an FTA audit, so a claim should never be filed on numbers you have not reconciled.
When an error does surface, timing matters. Our guide to voluntary disclosures explains when a correction is mandatory and how disclosing early reduces penalties.
What we do
- VAT registration, deregistration, and group registration
- VAT return preparation and filing
- Transaction mapping and supply chain analysis
- Refund claim preparation and FTA follow-through
- Voluntary disclosures with supporting reconciliations
- VAT health checks before the FTA looks
- Excise registration and compliance, including stockpiler and designated zone positions
- E-invoicing readiness and tax determination review
That last item is now the most time-critical work in indirect tax. From your e-invoicing go-live date, the tax treatment of every covered invoice reaches the FTA as structured data in near real time, which turns a quiet misclassification into a visible pattern. Getting the determination logic right before it is encoded is the whole game, and it is why we treat e-invoicing as a VAT engagement. See our e-invoicing service and the full guide to the mandate.
Common questions
When must we register for VAT?
When taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or are expected to within the next 30 days. Voluntary registration is available from AED 187,500.
Zero-rated versus exempt: why does it matter?
Zero-rated supplies still allow you to recover input VAT. Exempt supplies do not. Getting this wrong changes your recovery position on every purchase connected to those supplies, and the error repeats each period until it is found.
Can you take over a backlog of unfiled returns?
Yes. Backlog clean-up is one of our standard engagements: we reconstruct the records, quantify the exposure, file what is due, and use voluntary disclosures where they reduce the penalty position.
The positions on this page were last reviewed against published legislation and official guidance on .
- Federal Tax Authority — VAT
- Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on Value Added Tax, as amended (PDF)
- Federal Tax Authority — VAT guides, references and public clarifications
UAE tax law changes, and guidance is amended between reviews. This page is general information, not advice on your own position, and the official sources above prevail over anything stated here. Check the current position before acting, or ask us.
When did someone last check your VAT logic?
A health check takes a fraction of the time an audit does, and you choose what to do with the findings.
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