VAT registration posts 7.9% growth in UAE this year
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Chairman of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) board of directors, has chaired his first FTA board meeting.
Held on Wednesday at the FTA headquarters in Dubai, the meeting saw the election of Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, as Vice-chairman of the FTA board of directors.
The board reviewed a comprehensive progress report on various ongoing development projects and the FTA’S recent achievements and agenda for the future. Additionally, the Board approved the Authority’s financial statements for the second quarter that ended on 30th June, 2021, in accordance with international accounting standards.
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed
bin Rashid Al Maktoum asserted that the authority will continue its efforts to upgrade its services with a series of development plans designed to meet the highest standards. The FTA is committed to offering its full support to business sectors and encouraging taxable persons to comply with tax legislation, most notably with the FTA’S advanced and integrated e-services.
He also issued directives to facilitate and expedite the tax refund procedures for UAE nationals building new residences through the Authority’s e-services in line with the UAE leadership’s vision to develop a modern housing system that caters to citizens’ needs, asserting that supporting citizens’ wellbeing is the ultimate goal of the development process in the country.
“The next stage will see the FTA further embracing the UAE’S principles for the next 50 years – the ambitious plan championed by President His Highness Sheikh
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and envisioned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The plan charts a strategic roadmap for the UAE to build a more dynamic economy, keep pace with market volatilities, and address all regional and global challenges, all in an effort to sustain and accelerate the momentum of nationwide development across all sectors,” Sheikh Maktoum said.
The Key Performance Indicators (KPI) report, that the FTA board reviewed, disclosed an improvement in operational efficiency across FTA systems, which recorded a 7.9 per cent increase in the number of VAT registrants to 352,590 — including individual businesses and Tax Groups — at the end of Q3 2021, compared to 326,820 by the end of the same period last year.
The report also highlighted a noticeable increase of 11.97 percent in the number of excise tax registrations, where the figure increased to 1,338 compared to 1,195 registered at the end of September 2020. The expansion of the tax system database continued at a rate of 10.55 percent, as the number of registered Tax Agents rose to 419, up from 379 agents at the end of the third quarter of 2020.
On another note, the report points to an increase in processing requests for Tax Refunds on Building New Residences for UAE Citizens. The FTA expedited procedures to process these requests on its electronic platform, in line with the leadership’s directives to develop a modern housing system for citizens and offer them the highest standards of living.
The report also revealed that the tax refunds for Tourists Scheme recorded notable growth this year, as global restrictions on travel that were enacted to curb the spread of Covid-19 in 2020 are gradually eased, and as the tourism sector in the UAE bounces back. The total value of the tax refunds applications from tourists increased by 49 per cent in the first nine months of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020.
The FTA board examined another report on the results recorded in the first two stages of implementing the Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme, which seeks to prevent the sale (circulation) or possession of any kind of cigarettes, waterpipe tobacco (known in Arabic as ‘Muassel’) and electrically heated cigarette plugs that do not carry the Digital Tax Stamps in local markets.
The plan charts a strategic roadmap for the UAE to build a more dynamic economy, keep pace with market volatilities, and address all regional and global challenges, all in an effort to sustain and accelerate the momentum of nationwide development across all sectors Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Chairman of the Federal Tax Authority