During the course of submitting your UAE VAT Returns, your business may be in a UAE VAT Refunds position which enables you to claim a refund from the Federal Tax Authority.
UAE VAT Refunds are not automatically granted, The UAE Federal Law No. 7 of 2017 on Tax Procedures details the requirements to proceed with a claim. Your businesses may face challenges in understanding the procedural requirements. These could jeopardise or delay a successful claim.
In this blog, we share a summary of the typical areas that must be addressed.
Is Refund Claims Mandatory?
The short answer is no. If you have a net amount due in the declared UAE VAT Return, you are not obliged to mandatorily elect a refund.
- The amount can be waived and not claimed
- or left as a balance on the VAT account to be used against future liabilities.
If your business expects a future VAT liability it is probably more efficient to offset the balance against a future payment due.
If your business wishes to proceed with a refund claim from the FTA, this is subject to a formal process under the UAE VAT Refunds Application Form VAT311 available in the FTA portal. The process is rigorous and requires credible transactional evidence to meet the FTA’s satisfaction.