United Arab Emirates (‘UAE’) Updates
Value Added Tax (‘VAT’)
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VAT Public Clarification VATP016 - Business-to-Business Supplies of Healthcare Services
The Federal Tax Authority (‘FTA’) in October has issued a public clarification on providing Business-to-Business supplies of Healthcare Services. The clarification discusses in detail the treatment of providing health care services by a business to another business.
The FTA has clarified that supply of healthcare services may only be zero-rated if the recipient of the supply is also the person who receives the treatment.
The clarification can be accessed here
Excise Tax
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Ministerial Decision No. 236 of 2019 on Implementation of the Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2019 Excise Goods, Excise Tax rates and methods of calculating the Excise Price
On 29th September 2019, the Ministry of Finance (‘MoF’) has announced through its Decision No. 236 that the provisions of the Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2019 shall come into effect as of 1 December 2019.
The Decision mentions the updated list of goods on which Excise Tax will be levied along with the tax rate on each product as well as the method of calculating Excise Tax and designated retail price of goods.
The Decision can be accessed here
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Ministerial Decision No. 237 of 2019 of Implementation of the Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2019
On Excise Price for Tobacco Products
The MoF on 29th September 2019 has declared through its Decision No. 237 that the provisions of the Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2019 shall come into effect as of 1 December 2019.
The Cabinet Decision includes the minimum price for the Excise Price for Tobacco Products
The Decision can be accessed here
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Stockpiling of Excise Goods
The FTA has released a Public Clarification on Stockpiling of Excise Goods to provide detailed explanation of Excise Tax obligations and the methods of calculating ‘excess’ excise stock for stockpilers holding sweetened drinks, electronic smoking devices and tools, or liquids used in such devices and tools.
It also explains the Excise Tax obligations for stockpilers holding tobacco products on 1 December 2019, which have been subject to Excise Tax at a price lower than the minimum excise price introduced on such products.
Where a person expects to hold stock of sweetened drinks, electronic smoking devices and other excise goods for business purposes as on 1 December 2019, the person is required to consider whether he would qualify as a stockpiler or not for Excise Tax purposes. Qualifying as a stockpiler will require the person to register for Excise Tax purposes with effect from 1 December 2019, and to pay Excise Tax.
The clarification can be accessed here
Other Updates
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Press Release: FTA explores ways to implement New Procedures to Expand Excise Tax in collaboration with the Advisory Committee on Excise Goods
The FTA and the Advisory Committee on Excise Goods met to explore ways of expediting procedures for implementing two UAE Cabinet Decisions namely Decision No. 52 and No. 55. The FTA asserted that the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Excise Goods was part of its efforts to maintain continuous communication between the authority and taxpayers.
The press release can be accessed here
GCC Updates
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Qatar
New instructions for making Payments
The Qatar General tax Authority (‘GTA’) has recently announced a new method for depositing tax payments which includes dedicated bank accounts for different types of tax payments. The GTA has urged taxpayers to abide by the new instructions including providing tax registration to the bank, mention the tax year for which the payment relates and make deposit only in dedicated bank accounts.
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Oman
Introduction of new tax institution
His Majesty, the Sultan of Oman has issued two royal Decrees namely, Royal Decree No. 66/2019 and No. 70 of 2019. The Royal Decree No. 66/2019 announces the setting up of a new Tax Institution that will be a separate legal entity and will report to the council of ministers. The Royal Decree No. 70/2019 announces the appointment of Mr. Sultan bin Salim bin Said Al Habsi, as the Head of the Tax Institution.
The decrees can be downloaded in Arabic using the following links:
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
