Value-Added Tax Law — articles 1–88

For the purpose of applying the provisions of this Decree-Law, the following words and expressions shall have the meanings assigned thereto respectively, unless the context requires otherwise: State: The United Arab Emir…

The Tax shall be levied on: 1. Every taxable supply and deemed supply carried out by the taxable person. 2. Importation of the relevant goods except for what is specified by the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law.

Subject to the provisions of Part VI of this Decree-Law, the standard rate of the tax to be levied on any supply or importation shall be (5%) in accordance with the provisions of Article (2) hereof based on the value of …

The responsibility for the levied tax shall fall on the following: 1. The taxable person that makes any supply set forth in Clause (1) of Article (2) of this Decree-Law; 2. The importer of relevant goods; 3. The registra…

The following shall be considered a supply of Goods: 1. Transfer of ownership of the Goods or the right to dispose thereof to another Person, as determined by the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law. 2. Concluding a…

Each supply not considered a supply of goods shall be deemed as a supply of services, including any provision of services in accordance with what is determined in the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law.

Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Articles (5) and (6) of this Decree-Law, the following shall not be deemed as a supply: 1. Selling or issuing any Voucher, unless the received Consideration exceeds its declare…

The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall define the conditions of the transaction of the supply composed of more than one component for a single price, whether such components are goods and/or services.

1. Where goods and services are supplied by an agent acting on behalf of a principal, the supply shall be deemed to be made by the principal and for his benefit. 2. Where goods and services are supplied through an agent …

1. The government agency shall be deemed as making a supply in the course of business in the following cases: a. If its activities are performed in a non-sovereign capacity. b. If its activities are in competition with t…

The following cases shall be regarded as deemed supply: 1. Supply of goods or services forming the whole assets of the taxable person or part thereof, but such goods or services no longer form part of the assets, provide…

The supply shall not be regarded as deemed supply in the following cases: 1. If the amount of the input tax for the related goods and services is not refunded. 2. If the supply is an exempted supply. 3. If the refunded i…

1. Every Person who has a Place of Residence in the State or in one of the Applying States shall register for the Tax if: a. The value of the supplies set forth in Article (19) hereunder exceeds, during the previous (12)…

1. Two or more persons practicing the business may apply for the tax registration as a tax group if the following conditions are satisfied: a. Each of them shall have a business establishment or fixed establishment in th…

1. The Authority may exempt the Taxable Person, whether registered or unregistered, from the Tax Registration, upon their request, if their supplies are zero-rated only. 2. If any changes to the business of the Taxable P…

Government agencies to be determined by the Cabinet resolution referred to in Clause (2) of Article (10) of this Decree-Law shall apply for the tax registration and such registration may not be cancelled except under a C…

Any person who is not liable to be registered in accordance with the provisions of this Part may apply for the tax registration voluntarily in the following cases: 1. If such person proves, at the end of any given month,…

A non-resident person may not take the value of goods and services imported to the State for the purpose of determining whether he is entitled to be registered if the calculation of tax for such goods and services is the…

For the purpose of determining whether a person exceeds the Mandatory Registration Threshold and the Voluntary Registration Threshold, the total value of the following shall be calculated: 1. The value of taxable goods a…

The supply of capital assets belonging to the person during practicing the business shall be disregarded when determining whether a person exceeds the Mandatory Registration Threshold or the Voluntary Registration Thresh…

1. The Registrant shall submit to the Authority an application for the Tax deregistration in any of the following cases: a. If he ceases to make Taxable Supplies. b. If the value of the Taxable Supplies made during the p…

The registrant may submit to the Authority an application for cancellation of tax registration if the value of the taxable supplies made during the period of previous twelve months is less than the Mandatory Registration…

The registrant shall not be entitled, pursuant to Article (17) hereof, to submit an application for cancellation of his tax registration within twelve months as of the date of his tax registration.

The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall determine the procedures, controls and conditions of the tax registration, cancellation thereof and rejection of applications for tax registration and its cancellation a…

The tax shall be calculated on the date of supply of goods or services, which shall be the earlier date of any of the following: 1. The date of transferring the goods if they are transferred under the supervision of the …

1. The date of supply of Goods and Services for any contract that contains periodic payments or consecutive invoices shall be the earliest date of the following: a. The date of issuing any tax invoice; b. The maturity da…

1. The place of supply of Goods shall be in the State if such supply is made in the State and does not involve Exportation from or Importation into the State. 2. The place of supply of installed or assembled Goods if exp…

1. The supply of water and types of energy defined by the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law through a distribution system, shall be deemed to be made in the place of residence of the taxable trader if the distribu…

The place of supply of services shall be the place of residence of the supplier.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article (29) of this Decree-Law, the place of supply in special cases shall be as follows: 1. If the Recipient has a place of residence in an Applying State and is registered for the tax…

1.The place of supply of telecommunications and electronic services stated in the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall be as follows: a. Inside the State, if such services are used and enjoyed therein, to the e…

The place of residence of the supplier or recipient shall be as follows: 1. The state where the business establishment of the person is located or where he has a fixed establishment, provided that he does not have a busi…

The Place of Residence of the agent shall be the Place of Residence of the principal in the following cases: 1. If the agent exercises, on a regular basis, the right of negotiation and entering into agreements on behalf …

The value of any supply of goods or services for a consideration shall be as follows: 1. Where the supply is for a cash consideration in whole, the value of the supply shall be the consideration less the tax. 2. Where th…

The value of imported goods shall consist of: 1. The value of the goods for the customs purposes in accordance with the Customs Legislation, including the value of insurance, freight, any customs duties and any excise ta…

Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles (34), (35) and (37) of this Decree-Law, the value of the supply or Importation of Goods or Services between the Related Parties shall be considered equal to the market rate if a…

Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles (34) and (35) of this Decree-Law, in case of the deemed supply, when the taxable person purchases goods or services to make taxable supplies but he does not use the same for suc…

The declared prices shall include the tax in case of the taxable supplies. The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall determine the cases where prices do not include the tax.

When discounts are made prior to or after the date of supply or subsidies are provided by the State to the supplier for such supply, the value of such supply shall be reduced in proportion to such discounts or subsidies.…

The value of the supply of any voucher shall be the difference between the consideration received by the supplier of the voucher and the declared cash value of the voucher.

The value of the supply of postage stamps that enables the user to use the postal services in the State shall be the amount shown on the postage stamp.

If the goods are transferred temporarily from the local markets to a designated area or outside the State to complete their manufacture or their repair for the purpose of re-importing the same to the State, the value of …

1. The registrant may, in any specific tax period, calculate and charge the tax on the basis of the profit margin earned on the taxable supplies determined in the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law and not on the b…

The supply and importation of goods and services specified in this Chapter made by the taxable person shall be a zero–rated supply.

The zero rate shall apply to the following Goods and Services: 1. The direct or indirect Exportation to outside the Applying States, as determined by the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law. 2. Services of internati…

The following supplies shall be exempted from the tax: 1. Financial services as specified in the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law. 2. The supply of residential buildings through selling or leasing the same, excep…

The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall establish the controls for determining the tax treatment of any supply composed of more than one component for a single price, if each component is subject to a differen…

1. Where Taxable Person imports the concerned goods or the concerned services for the purposes of its business, the Taxable Person shall be deemed to have made a taxable supply to itself, and shall be responsible for cal…

The person other than the registrant shall pay the due tax on the importation of relevant goods from outside the applying states at the date of importation according to the payment mechanism specified by the Executive Re…

The "Designated Area" that meets the conditions established in the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall be treated as being outside the State.

1. Goods may be transferred from one designated area to another designated area without any tax due thereon. 2. The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall determine the procedures and conditions for the transfer …

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article (50) of this Decree-Law, the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall establish the conditions under which the business practiced in the designated areas shall be deemed to…

The payable tax for any tax period shall be calculated as being equal to the total output tax payable in accordance with the provisions of this Decree-Law, made during the tax period less the total refundable input tax b…

1. The input tax that is refundable by the taxable person for any tax period shall be the total sum of the input tax paid for goods and services used or intended to be used for making any of the following: a. Taxable Sup…

1. The Authority shall reject the deduction of recoverable input tax if it is established that the supply in respect of which the deduction is claimed was part of a supply or a chain of supplies connected with tax evasio…

1. Subject to the provisions of Article (56) of this Decree-Law, the refundable input tax may be deducted under the tax return relating to the first tax period in which the following conditions are met: a. Fulfillment of…

1. The registrant may recover the refundable input tax paid before the tax registration under the tax return submitted for the first Tax Period following the tax registration, paid for all of the following: a. Supply of …

1. Without prejudice to the general provisions o input tax refund, a Cabinet resolution, to be issued upon the proposal of the Minister, shall determine the Government Agencies and Charities entitled to recover the full …

The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall specify the method in which the refundable input tax is calculated, if the input tax is paid for goods or services during a specific tax period to make supplies that giv…

The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall determine the conditions and mechanism for adjusting the input tax in the following cases: 1. If the taxable person attributes the Input Tax, either fully or partially, …

1. If a capital asset is supplied or imported by a taxable person, the latter shall assess the period of use of such asset and make the necessary adjustments to the Input Tax paid pursuant to the Capital Assets Scheme. 2…

1. The Registrant shall adjust the output Tax after the date of supply in any of the following cases: a. If the supply is cancelled. b. If the Tax treatment of the supply is changed due to a change in the nature of the s…

The output tax shall be adjusted according to the following: 1. If the output Tax due for the supply exceeds the output Tax calculated by the Registrant, the Registrant shall issue a new Tax Invoice and shall calculate t…

Without prejudice to Clause (2) of Article (62) of this Decree-Law, if the registrant issues a Tax Credit Note to correct output tax charged to the recipient of goods or recipient of services, the tax stated in the Tax C…

1. The registered supplier may reduce the output tax in a current tax period to adjust the output tax paid for any previous tax period if all of the following conditions are met: a. Goods and services are supplied and th…

1. The Registered supplier shall, when making a taxable supply, issue an original tax invoice and deliver it to the recipient of goods or services. 2. The Registered supplier shall, when making a deemed supply, issue an …

Subject to the provisions of Article (65) of this Decree-Law, each registrant who supplies goods or services considered to be supplied in any of the applying states, shall deliver to the recipient of goods and services a…

1. The Registrant shall issue the Tax Invoice within (14) days as of the date of the supply set forth in Article (25) and (26) of this Decree-Law. 2. The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall identify the cases …

For the purposes of determining the tax stated in the tax invoice, the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall define the method of calculation and the total value to be paid if the tax is less than one fils of a …

For the purposes of the tax invoice, if the supply is made in a currency other than the UAE Dirham, the amount stated in the tax invoice shall be converted into the UAE Dirham according to the exchange rate approved by t…

1. The Registered Supplier shall issue an original tax credit note when there is a reduction of the output tax on any supply made thereby pursuant to the provisions of Clause (2) of Article (62) of this Decree-Law and sh…

The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall determine the tax period for which the taxable person shall calculate and pay the tax and the exceptional cases in which the Authority may amend the tax period.

1. The taxable person shall submit to the Authority the tax return at the end of each tax period, within the time limits and in accordance with the procedures determined by the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law to…

The Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law shall determine the time limits and procedures for payment of the tax shown in the tax return as payable in accordance with the provisions of this Decree-Law.

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law, the taxable person shall carry forward any excess of the refundable tax to the subsequent tax periods and offset such excess against the …

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law, the taxable person shall carry forward any excess of the refundable tax to the subsequent tax periods and offset such excess against the …

The Authority may, according to the conditions, rules and procedures set forth in the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law, refund the tax paid for any supply or importation made by any of the following: 1. A nationa…

Without prejudice to the provisions of the Tax Procedures Law, the Authority shall issue an Administrative Fine Assessment to the Person and notify him thereof within five (5) working days as of the date of issuance, in …

Without prejudice to the Tax Evasion cases set forth in the Tax Procedures Law, if it is proved that a Person who is not a Registrant acquires Goods in accordance with Clause (3) of Article (48) of this Decree-Law, and c…

Without prejudice to the provisions related to record keeping contained in any other law, every taxable person shall keep the following documents: a. Records of all supplies or importation of goods and services; b. All t…

The taxable person or any person authorized in writing thereby shall mention the Tax Registration Number in each tax return, notice, tax invoice, tax credit note, any other document related to the tax and any corresponde…

1. Notwithstanding the cases set forth in Clauses (2), (3), (6) and (7) of this Article, the Authority shall not carry out a Tax Audit or issue a Tax Assessment for the Taxable Person following the lapse of (5) five year…

1. If the supplier receives the Consideration or any part thereof or issues an invoice for Goods or Services prior to the date of entry into force of this Decree-Law, the date of supply shall be the same as the date of e…

The tax revenues and administrative fines to be collected in accordance with the provisions of this Decree-Law shall be subject to sharing between the Federal Government and the Emirates Governments, pursuant to the prov…

The Cabinet shall, upon the proposal of the Minister, issue the Executive Regulations of this Decree-Law.

Matters not stipulated herein shall be subject to the provisions of the Tax Procedures Law.

Any text or provision inconsistent or discrepant with the provisions of this Decree-Law is hereby repealed.

This Decree-Law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall enter into force as of 1st January 2018.