UAE excise tax sees positive results — FTA

The compliance rate stood at 97.7% of registered businesses with 715 registrants

The compliance rate stood at 97.7% of registered businesses with 715 registrants |

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) yesterday said compliance with Tax Returns requirements for the UAE’s Excise Tax is one of the highest rates in the world.

According to a statement, the compliance rate stood at 97.7 per cent of registered businesses, while the total number of registrants reached 715 registrants.

The Excise tax, introduced on October 1, 2017, places a 50 per cent on all carbonated drinks, except for sparkling water, and a 100 per cent tax on all tobacco products and all energy drinks.

Tax objectives

“All indexes confirm that the implementation of Excise Tax in the UAE has been remarkably successful at all levels, thanks to the Authority’s state-of-the-art electronic systems, characterised by their simplicity and ease of use, as well as to the tremendous cooperation and compliance on the part of businesses in the UAE,” said Khalid Ali Al Bustani, FTA’s Director General.

“These positive outcomes clearly indicate that we have begun achieving the main objectives of introducing Excise Tax,” he added.

The most notable of the primary objectives is building a safe and healthy society by reducing the consumption of goods that harm the health of community members and affect the quality of the environment, Al Bustani said.

“The tax system has also helped increase financial resources to support the expansion of government services provided to the public,” he noted.