FTA board adopts financial statements for 2021

Dubai: In its second meeting of the year, the Board of Directors of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) – chaired by Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Chairman of the FTA Board of Directors – adopted the FTA’s financial statements for 2021.

During the meeting held at the Authority’s headquarters in Dubai on Wednesday, the Board reviewed a report on the FTA’s plans to develop and enhance the tax system’s procedures and bring them in line with best practices, as well as to upgrade services offered to customers through fast, accurate, and easy-to-use digital platforms. The report called for implementing a set of procedures and initiatives to further advance the FTA’s performance through continuous follow-up and development in order to raise the efficiency of the tax system to meet taxpayers’ aspirations.

On a different note, the FTA Board of Directors examined the progress made on developing the draft corporate tax law.

Sheikh Maktoum issued directives to maintain the pace of upgrades made to the FTA’s services, in line with international best practices and digital transformation plans, which were developed to boost the UAE’s competitive edge in terms of services provided, as well as to support the country’s vision to become the world’s highest-ranking government on trust and performance indicators. The directives call for focusing on the customer and enhancing competencies to become a world leader in government services; they draw on the UAE’s principles for the next 50 years and the terms of the new methodology for government operations.

The Happiness of FTA Customers: The reports presented during the meeting demonstrate the FTA’s efforts to maintain high performance scores across all activities, His Highness asserted, noting the Authority’s plans to elevate its services to ensure satisfaction for all clients from all segments of society. “The Federal Tax Authority is committed to strengthening its relations with all entities involved in implementing the tax system in the government and private sectors, and to fulfilling its role in driving nationwide economic diversification policies through the administration and collection of federal taxes, in line with best practices,” Sheikh Maktoum said.

“The Authority is constantly reviewing the executive regulations it issues for each tax legislation in order to ensure top-level performance and streamlined procedures,” Sheikh Maktoum explained. “The stages ahead will witness sweeping developments and upgrades to tax systems and procedures in order to enhance the quality of the FTA’s services.”

The Board reviewed a report that outlines the FTA’s accomplishments over the last year and the first quarter of 2022, documents the progress made on existing projects, and lists statistics regarding Value Added Tax (VAT), Excise Tax, Tax Returns, tax payments, and refund requests that have already been processed. Compliance with tax regulations continued to grow across the UAE, and the number of VAT registrants grew to 367,157 at the end of the first quarter of 2022 compared to 358,468 in 2021 marking an increase of 2.42% within three months. Meanwhile, the number of Excise Tax registrants reached 1,398 compared to 1,357 last year with an increase of 3.02%. Also, the number of Tax Agents has increased to 446 compared to 433 with an increase of 3%.

The report revealed that the Authority approved new applications from UAE citizens to recover VAT they incurred on building their new residences; the value of refunds reached Dhs185,038,134 during the first quarter of 2022, compared to Dhs118,503,245 in the first quarter of 2021 – a record growth of 56.15%. The significant increase reflects the FTA’s commitment to streamlining online procedures for UAE citizens looking to recover VAT they incurred on building their new residences, in line with the leadership’s vision to develop a modern housing system for citizens and ensure their wellbeing, given that they are the main objective and beneficiaries from the initiatives and projects implemented by all state institutions.

Furthermore, the report noted the results of implementation of two phases of the ‘Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme’, which aims to halt the sale or possession of all types of cigarettes, waterpipe tobacco (Mu’assel), and electrically heated cigarettes that do not carry the Digital Tax Stamps in local markets.