PHOTO
15 March 2017
The Federal National Council (FNC) of the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday approved a draft law regarding the introduction of taxation procedures, paving the way for the country's adoption of value-added tax on goods and services from January 1, 2018.
“The Federal National Council approves the federal law project with regards to the tax procedures,” the FNC said in a post through its official Twitter account.
The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes the UAE, agreed in 2016 to introduce VAT as a means to diversify government revenue sources and reduce reliance on crude oil exports after oil prices took a sharp drop starting mid-2014.
The new procedures approved by the FNC will need final approval by the UAE president to be implemented.
The UAE finance ministry said on Wednesday it will start running a series of workshops starting this month to educate the business community on the management of the VAT system.
The ministry said on its website and Twitter account that the first phase of the awareness sessions would cover VAT and excise tax implementation. (Read more here)
Younis Al-Khouri, under-secretary at the finance ministry told Zawya in an interview last month that a 5 percent VAT is expected to be implemented simultaneously across the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) starting January. He said VAT would apply to companies with annual revenues exceeding $100,000 and anticipated a compliance rate of around 95 percent for companies in the UAE in the initial stage. (Read more here)
According to the ministry website, businesses that meet the requirement criteria will be able to start registering for VAT three months before the new tax is launched.
A source familiar with the workshops told Zawya on Tuesday that companies will be allowed to register as of “the beginning of the fourth quarter or maybe the end of the third one”.
A recent survey by consultancy EY of 500 participants representing businesses operating in the GCC showed that half of those surveyed have not yet started preparations for VAT, while 29 percent have studied some of the new VAT provisions. (Read more here)
Click here for Zawya’s Special Coverage on the introduction of VAT in the GCC.
(Additional reporting by Reem Wafai, Yasmine Saleh and Megha Merani)
© Zawya 2017
The Federal National Council (FNC) of the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday approved a draft law regarding the introduction of taxation procedures, paving the way for the country's adoption of value-added tax on goods and services from January 1, 2018.
“The Federal National Council approves the federal law project with regards to the tax procedures,” the FNC said in a post through its official Twitter account.
The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes the UAE, agreed in 2016 to introduce VAT as a means to diversify government revenue sources and reduce reliance on crude oil exports after oil prices took a sharp drop starting mid-2014.
The new procedures approved by the FNC will need final approval by the UAE president to be implemented.
The UAE finance ministry said on Wednesday it will start running a series of workshops starting this month to educate the business community on the management of the VAT system.
The ministry said on its website and Twitter account that the first phase of the awareness sessions would cover VAT and excise tax implementation. (Read more here)
Younis Al-Khouri, under-secretary at the finance ministry told Zawya in an interview last month that a 5 percent VAT is expected to be implemented simultaneously across the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) starting January. He said VAT would apply to companies with annual revenues exceeding $100,000 and anticipated a compliance rate of around 95 percent for companies in the UAE in the initial stage. (Read more here)
According to the ministry website, businesses that meet the requirement criteria will be able to start registering for VAT three months before the new tax is launched.
A source familiar with the workshops told Zawya on Tuesday that companies will be allowed to register as of “the beginning of the fourth quarter or maybe the end of the third one”.
A recent survey by consultancy EY of 500 participants representing businesses operating in the GCC showed that half of those surveyed have not yet started preparations for VAT, while 29 percent have studied some of the new VAT provisions. (Read more here)
Click here for Zawya’s Special Coverage on the introduction of VAT in the GCC.
(Additional reporting by Reem Wafai, Yasmine Saleh and Megha Merani)
© Zawya 2017