The Federal Tax Authority issued a clarification on insurance that states that an employer would only be able to claim the input VAT on the health insurance provided to employees’ families if it is the legal obligation of the employer to provide the insurance.

Pratik Shah, partner at Dhruva Advisors, said there is no legal obligation in Dubai on the employer to provide health insurance to the family of an employee, whereas Abu Dhabi mandates employers to provide such extended benefits.

“It would be interesting to see how an employer having head office in Abu Dhabi and having operations and employees situated all over the country will split the recovery of VAT and vice-versa. VAT being a federal-level law should ideally provide a ‘level playing field’ for all tax registrants. However, this would lead to employers situated in Abu Dhabi at an advantageous position to employers situated in the rest of Emirates,” Shah said.