UAE tax authority extends first VAT filing period for some firms

The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has extended the first declaration period for filing value added tax returns for some companies.

The authority said the decision was in response to calls from institutions subject to the tax, which came into effect on January 1 and applies to most goods and services.

Read: Revealed: Goods and services subject to VAT in the UAE

Director general of the FTA, Khalid Al Bustani, said the amendments would be applied to several businesses and included an extension of the accounting tax period by one to three months and changes to the quarterly tax period.

The first tax period was scheduled to end for some businesses at the end of January or February but the change will mean they instead have four or five months from the start of the year for their first declarations.

Businesses with a three-month tax period ending in March are unaffected by the amendments.

Al Bustani said discussions continued to take place with business sectors to overcome tax obstacles.

Companies can see if the changes apply to them by logging into their accounts on the FTA website.

Under current regulation, tax declarations must be submitted to the authority no later than the 28th day after the end of the relevant tax period.