The UAE’s telecom service providers, etisalat and du, will charge five per cent value added tax on the services and products they offer to the consumers in the country.

“Starting from the 1st of January 2018, most of etisalat’s products and services shall be subject to a five per cent value added tax in compliance with federal laws and regulations levying and regulating the tax in the UAE,” it said in a statement.

Du also said on its website that it would apply the standard VAT rate of five per cent from January 2018 to its products and services.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Monday approved the executive regulations for VAT.