UAE: Federal Tax Authority sets December 31 as deadline to apply for re-determination of administrative penalties on taxes

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has called on registered taxpayers to benefit from the decision to Re-determine Administrative Penalties on taxes to be worth 30 per cent of the total outstanding amount of penalties that were not paid before June 28, 2021, and to ensure they meet the conditions set out in the Cabinet Decision on re-determining administrative penalties imposed on tax law violations in the UAE.

The FTA stressed that taxpayers who are eligible to benefit from the decision must complete all related procedures through the e-services portal on its official website before December 31, 2022 to be able to benefit from these facilities.

In a press statement issued on Sunday, the Authority explained that according to the relevant Cabinet Decision, which went into effect on January 1, 2022, tax registrants who were unable to meet the criteria for benefiting from the re-determination by December 21, 2021 will be able to apply for re-determining administrative penalties to be equal to 30 per cent of the total outstanding fines by fulfilling the necessary conditions no later than December 31, 2022.

The FTA clarified that the decision outlined three conditions that need to be met in order to benefit from the re-determination of administrative penalties imposed before 28 June 2021. First, the administrative penalty must be imposed under Cabinet Decision No. (40) of 2017 before June 28, 2021, and remain outstanding. Second, the tax registrant needs to have settled all due Payable Tax by 31 December 2021. And third, the tax registrant must have paid 30 per cent of the total unsettled administrative penalties due until June 28, 2021 no later than December 31, 2022.

The Authority indicated that should the registrant meet all conditions, the new value of the penalties will be equal to 30 per cent of the total unpaid penalties, which will appear on the registrant's account in the FTA's e-Services system after December 31, 2022.

The FTA also noted that it is essential for taxpayers to pay their due payable tax before the due date to avoid any late payment penalties. In the same regard, the Authority cautioned that bank transfers can take up to three working days to process the payment; hence, the period must be taken into consideration to ensure that FTA receives the payment before the due date.

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