UAE Federal Tax Authority introduces cognizance campaign on expanding Excise Tax scope.
Federal Tax Authority, FTA, has launched a comprehensive awareness campaign about the objectives and processes of expanding the excise tax, as well as the procedures for registering in the FTA’s electronic system. The campaign consists of a series of workshops for non-registered businesses, beginning on 16th September in Abu Dhabi, with subsequent sessions on 18th and 23rd September in Dubai and Ajman, respectively.
The campaign is part of the procedures to implement the Cabinet Decision on Excise Goods, Excise Tax Rates, and the Method of Calculating the Excise Price, issued in August 2019, which expanded the scope of excise goods to include electronic smoking devices and liquids, as well as sweetened drinks. The new products join the list of existing excise goods issued in October 2017, which includes tobacco products, energy drinks, and carbonated drinks.
The campaign will consist of two categories of workshops;
One for businesses not registered with the FTA, which will consist of three workshops in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ajman. These workshops will introduce attendees to the procedures to be followed in order to register, declare imports, recover Excise Tax, submit Tax Returns, and pay due taxes, as well as register warehouse keepers and Designated Areas, among other things.
The second category, meanwhile, is for businesses currently registered with the Authority for Excise Tax purposes, who will be required to register their Excise Goods once again, as well as add any new items that have come under the tax with the new Decision. This category will be invited to a workshop on September 9, 2019, in Dubai.
A team of FTA experts will conduct interactive workshops for businesses subject to excise tax and introduce them to the registration procedures.
As a first step, the Authority has asked producers, importers, stock-pilers and warehouse keepers of sweetened drinks to register as businesses subject to excise tax workshop, and then proceed to register the excise goods they deal with.
Stage two, which will be announced soon, will require producers, importers, stock-pilers and warehouse keepers of electronic smoking devices and tools and liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools to follow suit.
The new Cabinet Decision identifies sweetened drinks as any product to which a source of sugar or sweetener is added and is produced as either a ready-to-drink beverage or as concentrates, gels, powders, extracts, or any other form that can be converted into a sweetened drink.
In that regard, sugar includes any type of sugar determined under Standard 148 of the GCC Standardization Organization as “sugar” and sweeteners include any type of sweeteners determined under Standard 995 of the GCC Standardization Organization as “sweeteners authorized for use in food products”.
Electronic smoking devices mentioned in the decision include any devices and tools and the like, whether or not they contain nicotine or tobacco, whereas electronic smoking devices include all liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools and the like, whether or not they contain nicotine or tobacco.
Digital stamps that contain tax-related data will be placed on all tobacco products from the beginning of next year to efficiently collect excise taxes.
To register for the Excise tax workshop, kindly click on the link https://www.tax.gov.ae/EW
