Oman Excise Tax Law — articles 1–57

For the purposes of this Law, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and expressions have the meanings set out beside them: Chairman of the Authority: the Chairman of the Tax Authority. Authority: the…

The responsible person is determined as follows: 1. For a sole proprietorship: the owner or responsible manager. If judicial receivership is imposed or bankruptcy is declared, the judicial receiver or bankruptcy administ…

The registrant must appoint the responsible person and notify the Authority in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Regulation. If the registrant does not appoint a responsible person, the Chairman may appoin…

The responsible person may not remain outside the Sultanate for more than 90 days during a tax year unless the Authority has been notified and has approved the appointment of another responsible person to act throughout …

Units of the State Administrative Apparatus must provide the Authority, upon request, with data and information relevant to the application of this Law. State Administrative Apparatus units that issue licences for activi…

For the purposes of this Law, the registry of the competent court must, at the Authority's request, provide it with: 1. Minutes recording attachment of movable property and the dates fixed for sale, immediately after the…

Any person conducting a public-auction sale of a registrant's movable or immovable property must notify the Authority of the scheduled sale date at least 10 days before that date.

Where the Authority seeks information concerning a person liable for tax from a licensed bank for the purpose of applying this Law, in accordance with the Banking Law, it must address the request to the Central Bank for …

A person liable for tax must deliver tax returns, accounts, financial statements, income statements, records, documents and other materials to the Authority by hand, registered post or electronic means, in the manner pre…

Notices and decisions issued by the Authority are served on the person liable for tax by hand, registered post or electronic means, in the manner prescribed by the Regulation.

The value and categories of excise goods, including tobacco and its types, and the tax rate imposed on each category shall be determined or amended by a decision of the Minister after approval by the Council of Ministers…

The Directorate General of Customs shall collect tax on imported excise goods by applying the prescribed rate and value and shall deposit the tax in a special account opened for that purpose, in accordance with the rules…

An importer of excise goods must notify the Authority of the categories, quantities and value of the imported excise goods and the amount of tax paid to the Directorate General of Customs, in the manner prescribed by the…

Without prejudice to the Unified Customs Law, where customs tax on imported excise goods is suspended, the importer must provide the Directorate General of Customs with a bank guarantee equal to the tax due. The guarante…

Where excise goods become subject to tax or their applicable tax rate is increased, every person carrying on an activity involving those goods, including import, production, trade or distribution, must notify the Authori…

Every person who produces or imports excise goods, releases them for consumption, possesses them without the tax having been paid, or is a licensee must apply to the Authority for registration in accordance with the cond…

The Authority shall maintain a register in which registration applications and their particulars are entered after review and verification, and the registrant shall be provided with a registration certificate. The Regula…

A registrant must notify the Authority in writing of any change to the particulars previously submitted with the registration application within 30 days after the change occurs. The Authority shall issue a registration c…

A registrant must immediately notify the Authority if the registrant wholly or partly ceases the activity involving excise goods, in the manner prescribed by the Regulation.

The Chairman or the Chairman's delegate may cancel registration in the cases and subject to the conditions and arrangements prescribed by the Regulation.

Tax becomes due on the date excise goods are released for consumption. The Regulation shall determine the cases in which excise goods are treated as released for consumption and the conditions and procedures to be follow…

If excise goods are smuggled, tax becomes due at the rate applicable when the smuggling occurred, or on the date the smuggling is discovered if the time of the offence cannot be determined.

Tax is not due on excise goods within free zones or special economic zones unless the goods are released for personal consumption unrelated to the conduct of work or business.

The cases, rules and procedures for suspending payment of tax shall be prescribed by the Regulation. Movement of excise goods under a tax-suspension arrangement between Council States shall be governed by a decision issu…

Where payment of tax is suspended, the person liable for tax must provide the Authority with a bank guarantee equal to the tax due. The guarantee must remain valid throughout the suspension period. The bank guarantee may…

A tax warehouse may not be established without a licence from the Authority issued in accordance with the conditions and procedures prescribed by the Regulation. The licensee must notify the Authority in writing of any c…

The following goods are exempt from tax: 1. Excise goods supplied to diplomatic and consular missions and international organisations, and to heads and members of diplomatic and consular corps accredited to the Sultanate…

Disposal or assignment of excise goods exempt under Article 27(1) of this Law must comply with the conditions and procedures prescribed by the Regulation; otherwise tax shall be imposed on them.

A registrant must submit a tax return to the Authority within 30 days after the end of the tax period, in the manner prescribed by the Regulation. The return must state, in particular: 1. The categories of excise goods a…

A registrant must submit an amended tax return upon discovering that a return contains an error or omission. The amended return must be submitted within 30 days after discovery. An amended return submitted within that pe…

The Authority must amend a registrant's tax return if it finds that the return contains an error or omission. It must notify the registrant of the amendment, the reasons for it and the grounds on which it is based, in th…

The tax paid to the Directorate General of Customs under Article 12 of this Law on excise goods imported during the tax period covered by the return shall be deducted in the tax return.

A registrant must keep orderly accounting records and books in which transactions involving excise goods are recorded as they occur. Those records and books must be kept by secure and reliable means for five years follow…

Tax due according to a tax return must be paid to the Authority by the deadline for submitting the return. Tax due according to an assessment or amendment made by the Authority must be paid by the deadline stated in the …

A registrant may credit tax previously paid on excise goods used to produce excise goods on which tax is due, as evidenced by the records referred to in Article 33 of this Law, subject to the conditions and arrangements …

A person liable for tax may not agree to transfer the burden of that tax to another person. Any agreement providing for such transfer is void.

Tax shall be refunded, subject to the conditions and procedures prescribed by the Regulation, in the following cases: 1. Tax paid by diplomatic and consular missions, international organisations, and heads and members of…

Employees of the Authority designated by a decision of the competent authority in agreement with the Minister shall have the powers of judicial enforcement officers in relation to this Law and its implementing decisions.…

The Regulation shall prescribe the rules and systems necessary to control the accounting records, books, documents, computer systems and other resources used by a registrant in carrying on an activity involving excise go…

The Authority may engage persons with appropriate expertise and competence to examine or inventory quantities of excise goods received, possessed, produced, processed, stored, transported, withdrawn, imported, exported, …

The Authority may require any person to provide documents, data, records or accounting books in that person's possession that relate to the registrant's tax obligation.

Information and data concerning a registrant are strictly confidential and may be disclosed only where authorised by law, with the registrant's express consent, in execution of a court judgment or order, or in execution …

Without the written authorisation of the Chairman of the Authority or the Chairman's delegate, no person may: 1. Break or remove seals or identifying marks previously placed by the Authority on machinery, equipment, labo…

A registrant may submit a grievance against an Authority tax assessment or amendment of a tax return within 45 days after becoming aware of the assessment or amendment, in the manner prescribed by the Regulation. An Auth…

The Committee shall be formed by a decision of the Minister and shall comprise a chair, a deputy chair and three members who are not employees of the Ministry of Finance, its subordinate bodies or bodies under its superv…

The Committee has jurisdiction to decide grievances submitted by registrants in the cases referred to in Article 44 of this Law. The Regulation shall prescribe the rules governing the Committee's work, the registers it m…

The Committee shall decide a grievance within the limits of the Authority's assessment and the relief sought by the grievant by confirming, amending or cancelling the assessment. Tax shall be collected in accordance with…

A grievant may request full or partial deferral of tax payment by submitting a reasoned request to the Committee chair stating the amount for which deferral is sought, in the manner prescribed by the Regulation. A reques…

Within 30 days after being notified of the Committee's decision, the Authority may request correction or amendment of the decision if it contains an error in the application of law, unless the decision has been challenge…

A registrant may appeal a Committee decision to the competent Court of First Instance sitting as a panel of three judges within 45 days after notification of the decision. The appeal does not prevent collection of the ta…

The court referred to in Article 50 of this Law may hear a tax action in a closed session. In all cases, judgment must be delivered expeditiously.

The Tax Cases Directorate attached to the Chairman has exclusive authority to represent the Authority in actions and tax appeals brought by or against it before courts of every type and level, before the Committee and be…

Without prejudice to any more severe penalty prescribed by another law, the offences specified in the following Articles are punishable by the penalties stated in those Articles.

A person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two months and not more than one year, and by a fine of not less than OMR 1,000 and not more than OMR 10,000, or by either penalty, in any of the following cas…

A person who commits any of the following acts shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than three years, and by a fine of not less than OMR 5,000 and not more than OMR 20,000, or by eith…

A public prosecution may not be commenced, and no investigative or procedural step may be taken in respect of an offence under this Law, except at the request of the Chairman of the Authority. The Chairman may compound a…

The Regulation shall prescribe the administrative penalties that may be imposed for violations, including grievance procedures and the amount of any administrative fine, which may not exceed OMR 10,000.