The value-added tax (VAT) has now been applied for more than a month in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Accounting for VAT is continuously being dealt with businesses, and every record is being prepared for the coming VAT return filing.

This concept is a new thing for the businesses in the UAE, hence it is important that everyone is frequently reminded about their obligations about VAT.

Needless to say, the government of the UAE has a strict compliance for this law that have been announced before. The penalties and repercussions in not following the rules and regulations set for this can be really big that businesses should not take it lightly nor ignore it.

In light of this, this article is both a review and a reminder on the obligations of the business owners with regard to VAT return filing in UAE. Being aware of this and ensuring that your calendars are marked for the returns will definitely aid you in not missing the dates resulting to penalties.

Review of the VAT Return Filing in UAE

Procedures in the VAT legislation should be followed. The registered businesses in the UAE are expected by the government to file their VAT returns with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). These returns should be received by the government in a quarterly basis. There can be cases, however, that the government will request some businesses to file monthly. Within 28 days after the tax period, businesses should be filing their returns then.

Everything will be done through the online services that the government has prepared for the business owners to make things easier. The VAT returns will therefore be filed online. There will be forms available for them to fill out. It will be consisted of the consolidated details regarding the VAT that they have accounted for in the tax period. It will show the total purchases, total sales, input VAT, output VAT, and tax payable.

However, businesses are furthermore requested to classify their supplies to categories. There are Standard Rated, Zero-Rated Supplies, Exempted Supplies, Reverse-Charged Supplies, and Intra GCC Supplies that the businesses can choose to categorize everything.

The forms that are already constructed should be submitted online. The login details should not be forgotten since it will be used to login to the FTA portal and have the VAT return form uploaded.

Dates for the VAT Return Filing in UAE

Since the filing of returns will be quarterly the below is the list of the dates that you should mark on your calendars:

Quarter 1:

The tax period will be from January to March 2018. The VAT return should be filed on or before the 28th of April 2018.

Quarter 2:

The tax period will be from April to June 2018. The VAT return should be filed on or before 28th of July 2018.

Quarter 3:

The tax period will be from July to September 2018. The VAT return should be filed on or before 28th of October 2018.

Quarter 4:

The tax period will be from October to December 2018. The VAT return should be filed on or before 28th of January 2019.

VAT Return Filing Consultant

For people who are new to this kind of thing, VAT and filing returns may be a bit difficult and confusing at times. In this case, VAT return filing consultants are available for your service. They can be found everywhere with a quick search online. To find out more about that, FAR – Farhat Office & Co. has a lot of information to provide you.