VAT compliance in the UAE is unforgiving of small mistakes. A late registration, a misclassified supply, or a missed filing deadline triggers FTA penalties that add up quickly, and the burden of proof sits with your business, not the authority.
Bazaar Accounting is a registered FTA Tax Agency. We handle the full VAT lifecycle for businesses: assessing whether you need to register, securing your TRN, filing accurate returns each period, and representing you if the FTA raises a query. If you're already registered and simply want the quarterly filing off your plate, we do that too.
The threshold rules are specific, and getting them wrong is a common and expensive error:
Mandatory registration applies once your taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or are expected to in the next 30 days.
Voluntary registration is available from AED 187,500, and often makes sense for early-stage businesses that incur recoverable input VAT before hitting the mandatory threshold.
Where most businesses get caught is the forward-looking test. You can breach the threshold based on expected turnover, not just historical, and the FTA penalises late registration regardless of whether you were tracking it. We assess your position, confirm which threshold applies, and handle the registration itself so the application is right the first time.
We're an FTA-registered Tax Agency, which means we can deal with the authority directly on your behalf, not just prepare paperwork for you to submit. That distinction matters most during audits and disputes, when representation rights determine who actually handles the correspondence.
Our VAT work is handled by qualified tax professionals who sit alongside our accounting and corporate tax teams. In practice, that means a VAT question with corporate tax implications, which is increasingly common since UAE Corporate Tax came into effect, gets answered by people who work on both, rather than being bounced between siloed departments.
We assess your threshold position, compile the required documentation, and secure your TRN. We also handle deregistration, which businesses often overlook. Staying registered after you no longer qualify carries its own penalties.
We prepare and file your returns each tax period, reconciling input and output VAT against your books before submission so the return reflects reality. On-time, accurate filing is the single biggest lever for avoiding administrative penalties.
Supply classification, place-of-supply rules, zero-rated versus exempt treatment, and the VAT position on specific transactions. This is where the money is usually won or lost, and where generic advice is most expensive.
We prepare and substantiate refund claims, and if the FTA opens an audit or assessment, we represent you and manage the response as your registered Tax Agent.
This is the first thing to check and the one most businesses skip. Only an FTA-registered Tax Agent can represent you before the authority. Everyone else can only prepare documents for you to file yourself.
VAT here has its own quirks: designated zones, the treatment of exports and imports, sector-specific rules. Ask how long they've handled UAE filings specifically, not tax generally.
VAT on real estate, financial services, and cross-border trade all behave differently. A consultant who knows your sector will catch issues a generalist won’t, and will structure your invoicing correctly from the start.
VAT runs on a fixed filing calendar. When a return is due or the FTA sends a query with a response window, you need someone reachable, not a ticket queue. Ask who your point of contact is and how quickly they turn things around.
The value of a good consultant shows in what doesn’t happen: no penalties, no rejected returns, no scramble at quarter-end. Ask how they handle reconciliation and error-checking before a return is submitted.
Registration trips businesses up on documentation, eligibility, and timing. Your provider should manage the full process and know exactly what the FTA portal expects, so the application isn’t bounced back for corrections.
Whether your period is quarterly or monthly, filing has to be accurate and on time, every time. Confirm the provider prepares the return from your actual books, not from summary figures you supply blindly.
The best VAT advice fits how your business actually operates — your margins, your cash flow, your customer contracts. A consultant who understands the commercial side will flag where a VAT treatment affects pricing or working capital.
Compare fee structures, but weigh them against what you’re protected from. The cheapest option that misses a deadline or misclassifies a supply costs far more in penalties than the fee difference. Look for clear scope and no surprises.
Value Added Tax (VAT) is an indirect tax levied on the consumption of most goods and services in the UAE. Introduced on 1 January 2018, VAT applies at a standard rate of 5%. Certain supplies may be subject to a 0% rate or be exempt, depending on the provisions of the UAE VAT Law.
No. They're separate and run in parallel. VAT is charged on consumption (your sales and purchases); Corporate Tax applies to business profits. Since Corporate Tax came into effect, most businesses now deal with both, which is why coordinated advice matters.
Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 in a rolling 12-month period, or are expected to within the next 30 days. Voluntary registration is available from AED 187,500.
Most businesses file quarterly, though the FTA assigns some larger businesses a monthly period. Your filing frequency is set at registration and shown in your FTA portal.
The FTA applies fixed and percentage-based administrative penalties for late registration, late filing, and late payment, and they escalate the longer they remain unresolved. If you've already fallen behind, we can help bring filings current and manage the FTA correspondence.
Generally yes, on eligible expenses directly related to taxable supplies, provided you hold valid tax invoices. Some categories (certain entertainment and personal-use items) are blocked or restricted. This is a frequent source of filing errors and FTA adjustments.
No. Salaries, wages, and standard employee benefits are outside the scope of VAT.
Being in a free zone doesn't exempt you from VAT. Certain "designated zones" have specific rules for goods, but most free zone service businesses register and file like mainland companies. We confirm your specific position based on your zone and activity.
Tell us where you are in the VAT cycle, registering, filing, or facing an FTA query, and we'll tell you exactly how we can help.
