UAE VAT Return Filing: Deadlines, Tax Periods and Penalties
When UAE VAT returns are due, what goes into the return, the errors the FTA sees most and how to correct mistakes.
By Countify's ACCA/FCCA chartered certified accountants
Tax periods and the 28-day deadline
Most VAT-registered businesses in the UAE file quarterly. The FTA assigns each business a tax period on registration, and some larger businesses file monthly. Your tax periods are shown in EmaraTax and on your registration certificate.
The VAT return and any VAT payable are due by the 28th day after the end of each tax period. A quarter ending 30 September must therefore be filed and paid by 28 October.
What goes into the return
The VAT return reports standard-rated supplies broken down by emirate, zero-rated and exempt supplies, supplies subject to the reverse charge, imports, and the input tax you are recovering on purchases and expenses.
- Sales are allocated to the emirate where the supplying establishment is located.
- Imported services from overseas suppliers are usually declared under the reverse charge.
- Input tax can only be recovered with a valid tax invoice and where the expense relates to taxable business activity.
The errors we see most
- Claiming input VAT on expenses that are blocked, such as most entertainment and some motor vehicle costs.
- Claiming input VAT on supplier invoices that are not valid tax invoices, or from suppliers that are not VAT registered.
- Missing the reverse charge on software subscriptions and other services bought from abroad.
- Allocating sales to the wrong emirate.
- Recording credit notes in the wrong period.
Correcting mistakes
If an error in a filed return changes the tax due by more than AED 10,000, it must be corrected by submitting a voluntary disclosure on EmaraTax. Smaller errors can generally be corrected in the return for the period in which they are discovered.
Correcting an error yourself before the FTA finds it usually results in lower penalties than an error found during an FTA audit.
Penalties
Late filing attracts a fixed administrative penalty, which is higher for a repeat offence within 24 months. Late payment attracts penalties calculated on the unpaid tax that increase the longer it remains unpaid. Late VAT registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty.
How Countify can help
We reconcile your books, review input tax and reverse charge entries, prepare and file your VAT return on EmaraTax before the deadline and handle voluntary disclosures and FTA queries.
This guide is general information and reflects the rules at the time of writing. UAE tax rules change, so check the latest FTA guidance or speak to us before acting.
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