RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE: The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) organised an awareness workshop at the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as part of the Customer Councils initiative, launched by the UAE Government to align services provided by government entities with customers’ needs and aspirations.
The Authority confirmed that organising this event reflects its commitment to reach out to all business sectors involved in the implementation of the tax system in the UAE, using all means and channels of communication to raise tax awareness among them, respond to their enquiries, and enable them to overcome challenges facing their voluntary self-compliance with tax legislation.
The workshop included a presentation about the Customer Councils Initiative, which aims to hold regular meetings as a means to foster active participation and interaction between government entities and customers, in order to facilitate the exchange of ideas, upgrade government services, and collect customer feedback through questionnaires and discussions.
The Customer Council was attended by Mr. Muhammad Hassan Al-Sabab, Acting Director General of Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and saw experts from the FTA give a presentation about the requirements and procedures for registering for Value Added Tax (VAT) on the EmaraTax digital tax services platform.
The presentation specified the taxpayers that have a mandatory requirement to register, and those who are permitted to register on a voluntary basis. It also highlighted the taxable supplies based on which the Authority determines whether or not a certain business is required to register; these include supplies of goods or services said business provides in the UAE that are subject to either 5% or 0% tax rates. Businesses whose taxable supplies exceeded AED375,000 over the previous 12-month period, or are expected to in the next 30 days, are obliged to register for VAT. Meanwhile, businesses can register voluntarily if their taxable supplies exceed AED187,500 in the past 12 months or are expected to in the next 30 days.
Furthermore, the workshop addressed how to calculate the Tax Registration Threshold, providing insights into the supporting documents and data required to complete the application, and the businesses exempt from registration.
The FTA experts at the Customer Council went on to offer Orientation for New Registrants, answering all of their questions and familiarising them with key processes and resources, including the VAT Amendment Application, VAT Registration Request Amendment, procedures for de-registration from VAT, Downloading the Registration Certificate, VAT Returns and Payments, VAT Return Filing Requirements, and Voluntary Disclosures. They emphasised the importance of using only the approved forms provided by the Authority, and clarified some of the most common mistakes that occur during registration or while submitting tax returns or paying due taxes, highlighting the best ways to avoid these mistakes.
