UAE Government official confirms plans to introduce VAT from 1 January 2018 and reveals other details

GCC all set for VAT implementation from January 01, 2018

The UAE press has reported that during an interview with Thomson Reuters, Zawya, Younis al-Khouri, the under-secretary at the UAE Ministry of Finance, confirmed the following in relation to the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT):

• The UAE intends to introduce VAT from 1 January 2018, despite administrative and technical obstacles.

• The VAT registration threshold will be US$100,000 of annual revenue

• The standard rate of VAT will be 5%, with limited exemptions over seven sectors, including:

    −  Education
    −  Healthcare
    −  Renewable energy
    −  Water
    −  Space
    −  Transport
    −  Technology

• The Government expects to collect around US$3.3b (about 0.9% of GDP) revenue from the introduction of VAT in its first year.

• The Government is not considering a VAT rate above 5%, and it will not raise the VAT rate in the future without a thorough study of the economic and social impact.

The law detailing the tax system has yet to be approved and no further details as to which goods will be covered, businesses in the UAE can start registering for VAT three months before the rollout.

At least 28 positions have opened in the Ministry of Finance, including 

-  Compliance and enforcement director,
-  Tax auditor,
-  Analyst,
-  Registrations staff,
-  Contact centre agent,
-  Purchasing specialist,
-  Legal counsel and
-  Administrative assistant, among many others.

 Further details can be viewed from the following UAE Ministry of Finance website link;
https://www.mof.gov.ae/En/Pages/Careers.aspx