UPDATE: United Arab Emirates to introduce VAT

31 August 2017

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has now published its Value Added Tax (VAT) law confirming 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 Dh 375,000 (Approx. 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 harmonised VAT regime by 2018. The GCC countries consist of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

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