UPDATE: United Arab Emirates to introduce VAT

30 March 2017

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed that it will be implementing VAT at a rate of 5% from 1 January 2018. The VAT registration threshold for all businesses has also been confirmed at US$ 100,000.

The new tax will be levied on most goods and services however there will be exemptions on essential items such as foodstuffs and health & social care services.

The UAE is part of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (“GCC”) and all of these countries have agreed to implement a harmonized VAT regime by 2018. The GCC countries consist of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

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