FTA reports 7% increase in number of registrants, 21% hike in tax returns

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

In its 11th meeting, the Board of Directors of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) approved financial statements for 2019, and adopted a number of executive decisions on the FTA’s organisation, administration, and operations. Furthermore, the number of businesses registered with the Authority increased by 7%, where the number of businesses registered for VAT – as individuals or tax groups – recorded 320,440, while the number of registrants for Excise Tax totalled 1,100, and the number of Tax Agents reached 355.

Headed by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance, and Chairman of the FTA’s Board of Directors, the meeting took place on Monday at the Ministry’s Dubai headquarters. Attendees explored a series of progress reports on ongoing projects; the FTA’s accomplishments; the results of phases one and two of the ‘Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme’ and future steps; the outcomes of the Authority’s activities regarding VAT and Excise Tax, such as receiving periodic Tax Returns, settling due taxes, and processing tax refund requests.

All indexes reviewed by the board revealed a noted increase in tax compliance rates, where the total value of the Tax Returns submitted to the Authority grew by 21% over the past year, compared with 2018.

Sheikh Hamdan  asserted that the outstanding reports and results prove that the tax system succeeded, over the course of the past two years and this year, in accomplishing many of its objectives, most notable of which being the diversification of national sources of income, offer top-quality public services, and maintain a sustainable environment and integrated infrastructure.

“The results we have seen assert that the 100% digital tax system that was implemented in the UAE in accordance with international best practices has played a tremendous role in encouraging Taxable Persons to self-comply with the transparent and accurate procedures,” Sheikh Hamdan said. “The Federal Tax Authority has successfully achieved great success in all of the sectors it operates in and across all of its programmes. The FTA established a host of effective strategic partnerships with relevant entities in the public and private sectors; meanwhile, the number of users for the tax system grew exponentially as the number of registrants with the Authority grew, in parallel with the number of authorised clearance companies and Tax Agents.”

He applauded the FTA’s success across various important projects, including the e-Services Portal for recovering VAT on the construction of new homes for UAE citizens, which offers facilities and streamlined procedures for refunding taxes, as well as the electronic system of the Tax Refunds for Tourists Scheme, which was expanded. Sheikh Hamdan also noted the VAT Refunds for Business Visitors programme and the Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme, which seek to combat tax evasion, protect consumers from commercial fraud, and preserve the environment and public health.

According to reports raised to the Board of Directors, the e-Services Portal for VAT refund on the construction of new residences for UAE nationals, which was launched this year to further facilitate tax recovery procedures for UAE nationals, has processed Dhs97.06 million worth of applications up until March 2020 – a 15.48% growth in less than three months, up from Dhs84.07 million until December 2019.