Loading...
Free zones
Free zone costs and visasFree zone rules and taxFree zones by emirateFree zone price indexCost calculatorFree zone setup guideMainland
Mainland licences by activityBusiness activity look-upActivity permissions by zoneIncorporation document checklistLoading...
Explainers
What UAE value added tax asks of a business — registration, invoicing, the rates, imports and the reverse charge, input tax recovery, the return and payment, records and the audit window — as a process with steps, before any video shows Arakan Ledger.

What VAT involves
Tax collected on every supply and paid over each period: who it reaches, where the rules sit, how long the authority can look back, and the six steps.
2 min

Registering for VAT
The 375,000 dirham test, the 30-day window, voluntary registration at 187,500 and its lock-in, tax groups, deregistration, and keeping your registration data current.
2 min

The tax invoice
Fourteen days to issue, what it must carry, full or simplified, the exchange rate, electronic invoicing, the credit note, and the penalty per missing invoice.
2 min

Standard, zero and exempt
Three treatments and what separates them: the zero-rated list, the 90-day export evidence rule, the exempt list, and why exempt costs you input tax.
2 min

Imports and the reverse charge
How tax on imported goods and services is accounted for through the return, the papers to keep, the unregistered importer, agents, designated zones, and the 50 percent penalty.
2 min

Recovering input tax
The conditions for recovery, what is blocked, the six-month payment rule, apportionment and the annual wash-up, capital assets, and bad debt relief.
2 min

The return and the payment
What the return declares, the 28th-day deadline, the late filing and late payment penalties, correcting an error, and what happens to excess tax.
2 min

VAT records and the audit window
The records VAT law names, the TRN on everything, the 15-year rule for property, the audit and assessment window, Arabic on request, and the penalty for missing records.
2 min