Tax expert Lisa Martin says the rules around de-registration are "a little complicated". Getty
Tax expert Lisa Martin says the rules around de-registration are "a little complicated". Getty

VAT q&a: 'How do I know if an FTA email is a scam?'



I recently received an email from the Federal Tax Authority.  Can you advise if this is a scam as I read online about a scam email that posed as Emirates NBD regarding VAT refunds. The FTA email says: "This is to bring to your kind attention that your VAT application needs to be amended as some information provided is missing, incorrect or expired. You are kindly requested to amend the application within 5 working days to avoid any difficulties during your fillings or imposing of relevant penalties". If the FTA email is genuine, what do I need to do? CB Dubai

The FTA email is not a scam and needs to be actioned. The Emirates NBD email was identified by the bank as a phishing scam and should be ignored.

VAT has now been in place for almost a year and therefore most registered companies will have renewed their trade license since they first registered for VAT.  The FTA requires information uploaded at the time of registration to be updated each year as it expires. This includes the trade licence and the passports and Emirates IDs of the company owners.

To start the amendment, click on the link on your FTA dashboard. Once you start an amendment you are prompted to re-enter your Emirates ID and passport even if the documents uploaded at registration are still valid. Then work your way through the amendment pages which follow the format of the initial VAT registration.

While the portal does not force you to update the annual turnover or upload your most recent year-to-date financial statements, several VAT experts suggest doing this as you need to certify on the last page that the information you are submitting is correct. Note the FTA request that the amendment is filed within five working days to avoid difficulties.

_________

Read more:

Emirates NBD issues warning over VAT phishing email targeting clients

VAT q&a: 'Can I take on new orders without a TRN number?'

VAT q&a: 'Does a company branch have to be registered separately for taxes?'

_________

I read your article on the VAT registration of branch companies. Has the FTA issued a clarification on this subject? I checked the authority's user guide but could not find anything matching this article. So I need clarification on this, as have similar concerns. NK, Sharjah

The FTA guidance regarding the VAT registration of branches was not included specifically in either the Decree Law or Executive regulations, rather it was clarified in the VAT registration guide on page 10. This guidance can be found at https://www.tax.gov.ae/pdf/Registration-User-Guide-VAT-VATG102_English_1.pdf .

The guidance states: “Please note, branches are not legally distinct from the wider entity to which they belong. Therefore, registration will not be made in the name of a branch but in the name of the parent where it meets the relevant criteria. Even if you are operating via branches in more than one emirate, only one VAT registration is required”. Once the parent company is registered, all branches and the parent company should use the same tax registration number.  The parent and all its UAE branches should file a consolidated VAT return at the end of each quarter.

_________

Read more:

VAT q&a: 'How do I invoice a client in another currency?'

VAT q&a: What entertainment expenses can my company reclaim VAT on?

VAT q&a: As a start-up not paying VAT, how can I retain my big clients?
__________

One of my suppliers issued an invoice dated July 29, but I did not receive it until August when I had already completed and filed my return for the period May to July.  Can I reclaim the input tax credit or has that opportunity been lost due to the time delay? LS, Abu Dhabi

VAT legislation recognises there may be delays between the invoice date and the date it is received by the customer, therefore the FTA allows you to reclaim input VAT in the next return. This is covered in Article 55 of the Decree Law and states you should recover the input VAT in the tax period following receipt of the invoice or the subsequent period. The legislation does not refer to the invoice date, rather to the date of receipt of the invoice by the customer.

Lisa Martin, a chartered accountant with more than 20 years commercial finance experience, is the founder of accounting, auditing and VAT consultancy, The Counting House. Email any VAT queries to pf@thenational.ae

MATCH INFO

Tottenham Hotspur 0 Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 55')

Man of the Match Allan (Everton)

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Newcastle United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2
Tottenham (Alli 61'), Davies (70')
Red card Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle)

Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs

A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.

The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.

Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.

Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.

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Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

ILT20%20UAE%20stars
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Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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RESULT

Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg

Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
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Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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About Tenderd

Started: May 2018

Founder: Arjun Mohan

Based: Dubai

Size: 23 employees 

Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital


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