Report sales of unstamped excisable goods: Oman Tax

The Oman Tax Authority has advised consumers to flag traders, shops and other outlets that sell Excise Tax liable goods, such as tobacco products, beverages and so on, but without the mandatory digital tax stamps that distinguish authorised sales from illicitly sourced merchandise.

In a post, the Authority urged the general public to report such instances, if any, via its Ta’akad app – launched earlier this year to provide consumers and retailers with the ability to quickly and easily validate the authenticity of excisable products using digital stamps or other digital markers since applied to such products.

“The Digital Tax Stamp (DTS) is applied to verify the source of the commodity and that it enters the markets officially, meaning that it is not counterfeit or smuggled. If you find any of these goods that do not bear the Digital Tax Stamp, you can report them via the Ta’akad app,” the Authority stated in its post.

Under laws that came into force in mid-2019, Oman began levying an excise tax ranging from 50 to 100 per cent on a range of merchandise, notably cigarettes and tobacco products, alcohols and spirits, and carbonated and energy drinks, among other products.

The list of excisable goods was broadened in October 2020 to include a wide range of sugar-sweetened drinks, canned juices and other ready-to-drink beverages.

Since the rollout of the Digital Tax Stamp system last year, the affixing of digital stamps has become obligatory on an initial selection of excisable merchandise, according to Oman Tax.

“The Digital Tax Stamp system has been applied to cigarette products, tobacco products and their derivatives, and the application will be extended to other Excise Tax goods in stages over certain periods in the Sultanate of Oman,” it stated.

Manufacturers and importers of excise products who do not comply with the Digital Tax Stamps scheme will be penalised in accordance with the penalty provisions prescribed under the Oman Excise Tax Executive Regulations (administrative penalty of RO 500 to RO 5,000).