Dubai- February 10, 2021:

According to the FTA, anyone owning multiple ‘sole businesses’ in the UAE need only one tax registration for all of them, and not for each one separately. It means that all tax claims must be filed collectively by the individual and for the establishments he owns. A sole establishment is 100 per cent owned by an individual, and does not have legal standing independent of its owner.

The FTA clarified that the sole proprietorship rule does not apply to a One-Person Company LLC or similar legal entities, which are seen as “distinct and separate legal persons” from their owners (unless the applicable legislation treats such entity and the natural person as the same person). For the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that a legal person a company) cannot own a sole establishment. In certain cases, tax registrations by taxpayers are reviewed with regards to sole establishments and such persons will be informed of the corrective measures to be taken.

The tax claims filed by the business owner in addition to his sole establishments must be considered collectively to determine whether the person exceeded the mandatory VAT registration threshold of Dh375,000.

The FTA said the registrant must inform the FTA of any undeclared output tax by submitting a voluntary disclosure in accordance with Federal Law No. 7 of 2017 on Tax Procedures. A natural person is also required to notify the FTA if it failed to register for VAT and take the necessary corrective action to account for any outstanding dues.