Value Added Tax (VAT) in UAE

What is basis of VAT ? 
Value-added taxation is based on a taxpayer's consumption of goods rather than his income. More than 160 countries around the world use value-added taxation. Its directly linked to the consumption of products on which VAT is applicable in the respective country. 

What is Value Added Tax (VAT) ?
A value-added tax (VAT) is a type of consumption tax that is placed on a product whenever value is added at a stage of production and at final sale. ​The amount of VAT that the user pays is the cost of the product, less any of the costs of materials used in the product that have already been taxed.

Example : 
When a computer is built by a company, the manufacturer is charged VAT on all of the supplies it purchases to produce the computer. Once the computer reaches the shelf, the consumer who purchases it must pay the applicable VAT.

What is implementation date of VAT in UAE ?
​VAT is likely to be introduced across the UAE on January 1 2018. 

What does a business need to do to prepare for VAT?
Concerned businesses will have time to prepare before VAT will come into effect. Businesses will need to meet requirements to fulfill their tax obligations. Businesses could start preparing themselves now so that they will be ready later. To fully comply with VAT, businesses might need to make changes to their core operations, their financial management and book-keeping, their technology, and also if needed even their human resource mix (e.g., accountants and tax advisers). It is essential that businesses try to understand the implications of VAT now and once the legislation is issued make every effort to align their business model to government reporting and compliance requirements. 

Please note that UAE VAT law is currently being finalized and would be be published once approved. by the authorities in UAE. Currently the primary source of information regarding the UAE VAT Law is the Ministry of Finance website. 

For more information on how Gupta Accountants could assist your business in making changes to the bookkeeping and accounting  in  compliance with expected VAT tax in UAE contact us today.