The Dubai Expat Diaries

A recent report from Gulf News that expats and residents of Dubai and the United Arabi Emirates (UAE) in general may get hit by the imposition of VAT within a year. The government is currently evaluating various options and may form a seperate federal body to oversee collection of Value Added Taxes in the UAE or the customs department may collect the taxes upon entry of goods.

Research is currently in its advanced stages into models for VAT that might hit UAE residents within a year, according to a government official interviewed by daily newspaper Gulf News. “We are currently carrying out various studies on the implementation of VAT in a year’s time,” Abdul Rahman Al Saleh, executive director for Corporate Affairs at Dubai Customs, told the paper.

Al Saleh hinted that VAT would not be imposed on all goods and services. Small companies will be exempt, he said. That suggests that large supermarkets such as Spinneys and Carrefour would have to impose VAT on goods while corner grocery stores would slip through the net. As reported on ArabianBusiness