Federal Tax Authority Calls on Businesses to Participate in Workshops on Objectives and Procedures of Expanding the Scope of Excise Tax

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has launched a comprehensive awareness campaign about the objectives and processes of expanding the Excise Tax, as well as the procedures for registering in the FTA’s electronic system.

The campaign consists of a series of workshops for non-registered businesses, beginning on September 16, 2019, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with subsequent sessions taking place on September 18 and 23 in Dubai and Ajman.

The Authority went on to note that the campaign is part of the procedures to implement the Cabinet Decision on Excise Goods, Excise Tax Rates, and the Method of Calculating the Excise Price, issued in August 2019, which expanded the scope of Excise Goods to include electronic smoking devices and liquids, as well as sweetened drinks. The new products join the list of existing Excise Goods issued in October 2017, which includes tobacco products, energy drinks, and carbonated drinks.

The FTA called on producers, importers, stockpilers and warehouse keepers of sweetened drinks, electronic smoking devices and tools and liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools to take part in the workshops, where registration for the sessions has been made available via the Authority’s website: www.tax.gov.ae/ew  

In a press statement issued today, the Federal Tax Authority noted that the campaign will consist of two categories of workshops: One for businesses not registered with the FTA, which will consist of three workshops in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ajman. These workshops will introduce attendees to the procedures to be followed in order to register, declare imports, recover Excise Tax, submit Tax Returns, and pay due taxes, as well as register warehouse keepers and Designated Areas, among other things. The second category, meanwhile, is for businesses currently registered with the Authority for Excise Tax purposes, who will be required to register their Excise Goods once again, as well as add any new items that have come under the tax with the new Decision. This category will be invited to a workshop on September 9, 2019, in Dubai.

The Authority asserted that the new campaign seeks to establish contact with the business sectors that will be involved in implementing the Decision. A team of FTA experts will conduct interactive workshops for businesses subject to Excise Tax, introducing them to the registration procedures. As a first step, the Authority has called for producers, importers, stockpilers and warehouse keepers of sweetened drinks to register as businesses subject to Excise Tax, and then proceed to register the Excise Goods they deal with. Stage two, which is set to be announced soon, will require producers, importers, stockpilers and warehouse keepers of electronic smoking devices and tools and liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools to follow the same steps.

The new Cabinet Decision identifies sweetened drinks as any product to which a source of sugar or sweetener is added and is produced as either a ready-to-drink beverage or as concentrates, gels, powders, extracts, or any other form that can be converted into a sweetened drink. In that regard, sugar includes any type of sugar determined under Standard 148 of the GCC Standardization Organization as ‘sugar’ and sweeteners include any type of sweeteners determined under Standard 995 of the GCC Standardization Organization as ‘sweeteners authorised for use in food products’.

Meanwhile, electronic smoking devices mentioned in the Decision include any devices and tools and the like, whether or not they contain nicotine or tobacco, whereas electronic smoking devices include all liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools and the like, whether or not they contain nicotine or tobacco.

Dates and Locations – Workshops for Businesses Not Registered for Excise Tax