UAE October 24, 2022:

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) asserted that the implementation of Excise Tax has been a great success in all aspects. Whether in relation to the implementation mechanisms developed as per international best practices, or in relation to encouraging cooperation from sectors of taxable businesses, the indicators have revealed positive results. Thus demonstrating that the roll-out of Excise Tax in the region has achieved its intended objectives.

The review was part of a press statement the Authority issued to mark the five-year anniversary of the implementation of Excise Tax, which went into effect in the UAE since October 1, 2017. Primarily applied to carbonated beverages at a rate of 50%, tobacco products and energy drinks at 100%, the scope of Excise Goods was later expanded to include sweetened drinks as of December 1, 2019, that were subject to a rate of 50%, and electronic smoking devices, tools along with the liquids used within were subject to a rate of 100%.

Key Indicators

• The FTA revealed that the total number of Excise Tax registrants grew continuously from 309 by the end of 2017 to 430 by the end of 2018, at a growth rate of 39.16%.
• The total increased by 60.47% to 690 registrants by the end of 2019, and subsequently by 45.36% to hit 1,003 registrants by the end of 2020, and by another 22.33% to reach 1,227 registrants by the end of 2021.
• An additional growth rate of 19.72% was recorded in the first nine months of the current year, where the total number of registrants reached 1,469 by the end of September 2022.
• Overall, this marks a cumulative growth of 375.41% between the end of 2017 and the end of September 2022.

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