UAE’s FTA launches new e-system to register excise goods

The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has launched a new electronic system for registering excise goods, in line with new reporting requirements, it announced on Sunday.

The FTA called on all businesses dealing with excise goods to follow the new process of registering excise goods and ensure all required documents are readily available when submitting the registration request.

The requirements include products details, ingredients, marketing information including images and videos, lab tests in some cases, and the retail price of the product based on the UAE retailers or in the relevant country in case it is not sold in the UAE.

The new system offers “accurate and transparent procedures” for registering excise goods with clear guidelines and standards, the FTA said in a statement.

It also urged excise taxable persons to comply with the new declarations, tax return forms and reporting requirements including import, produce, release from designated zones, and local purchase scenarios.

The authority said it has launched new manuals and guides to raise awareness among taxpayers and offer them instructions on how to register excise goods in the new system, and comply with the new reporting requirements.

The UAE introduced excise tax on certain products in 2017, which saw the price of tobacco products and energy drinks rise by 100 per cent, and sugary carbonated drinks by 50 per cent.

The FTA reiterated that any person who produces or imports an excise good to be sold in local markets is subject to the tax, as is any person who stockpiles such goods or releases them from a designated area.

It also asserted that there is no threshold for excise tax, meaning that any business with activities involving excise goods is required to register in the new system.