UAE Federal Tax Authority: VAT Registration in 3 Easy Steps Through e-Services Portal

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) reaffirmed that registering for Value Added Tax (VAT) can be done in three easy steps through the e-Services portal on the Authority’s website, taking no longer than 15-20 minutes.

The Taxable Person or an official representative can register through the e-Services portal, available 24/7 on the FTA website, which was designed according to best international practises to facilitate registering for VAT, filing VAT returns, and paying due taxes, in addition to providing information and guides to raise public awareness around the tax system.

In a press statement issued today, the FTA once again urged businesses to take advantage of the decision to waive late registration penalties until April 30, 2018, which took into consideration the lack of readiness among businesses when Value Added Tax (VAT) first went into effect. The decision reflects the Authority’s commitment to guiding taxable persons and ensuring their full compliance to avoid administrative penalties.

The Authority pointed out that registration in the system is free of charge and available 24/7 through the FTA website. Businesses are required to access the website: www.tax.gov.ae; go to the e-Services portal and set up an account by clicking on “Registration”. A verification email is then sent, following which the account is accessible through “Login” button. Users can then begin the 3-step registration process by going to “Create an Account”, filling the form, and finally, clicking “Submit for Approval”.

The FTA has urged businesses to provide accurate information and make sure they enter it properly into the application form. To complete the registration process, scanned documents must be attached, including the business or trade license, passport/Emirates ID (for UAE residents) of the manager or owner of the business, and the authorized signatory (if the signatory is not the manager him/herself), as well as proof of authorization for the manager or signatory (e.g. articles of association, power of attorney attested by notary, etc.).

The Federal Tax Authority clarified in a press statement that any natural or legal person conducting business in the UAE is required to register for VAT if their taxable supplies exceeded AED375,000 in the previous 12 months, or are expected to exceed that amount in the next 30 days. Taxable Supplies are identified as all supplies of goods and services made by a Person that are not exempt, in addition to imported goods and services.

Two or more legal persons conducting business in partnership may apply for Tax Registration as a Tax Group, the FTA explained, outlining a set of conditions for such a registration, namely: Each of them has a place of establishment or fixed establishment in the UAE; if the persons are related parties, i.e. they are not separated in economic, financial or regulatory aspects; or if one or more of the Persons in the group control the others.

Persons intending to register as a Tax Group need to nominate a representative member who shall apply to register them. The representative member applies first by completing a VAT registration application stating that the intention is to be part of a Tax Group. After the representative member is issued with a Tax Identification Number (TIN), the additional members of the group may be added through Tax Group Registration. Members can be added whether they have registered separately or not. After the process is complete and the application to add members has been submitted, a TRN will be issued for the whole Group.