FTA's deadline to exempt firms from penalties for late registration ends on April 30

Dubai - Businesses that provide exempt goods or services - or no taxable products - do not have to register.

The Federal Tax Authority's (FTA) deadline to exempt companies and individuals who were late to register, from penalties expires tomorrow, Monday, April 30, 2018, urging all businesses to register immediately and avoid administrative penalties and procedures.
The Federal Tax Authority reaffirmed that any natural or legal person must register for VAT if their taxable supplies exceeded Dh375,000 in value during the previous 12 months - or expected to exceed the mandatory threshold in the next 30 days - noting that taxable supplies are identified as all supplies of goods and services made by a person that are not exempted, in addition to the imported goods and services.
Businesses whose taxable supplies do not exceed Dh375,000, but are more than the voluntary registration threshold of Dh187,500, are entitled to register for VAT, while businesses that provide exempt goods or services - or no taxable products - do not have to register.
The extension granted in February by the Board of Directors' decision to waive the Dh20,000 late registration penalty until April 30, 2018, took into account the lack of readiness among businesses when Value Added Tax (VAT) first went into effect on January 1, 2018, and reflects the Authority's commitment towards guiding taxable persons and ensuring their full compliance to avoid administrative penalties.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, the FTA revealed the five administrative procedures that await businesses who were required to register before January 1, 2018 (or as soon as they became subject to VAT), and who fail to register before tomorrow.
These include: Not being able to collect VAT from consumers; having to pay tax on imports before clearance; paying tax on all supplies made during the period in which the entity was supposed to be registered; paying administrative penalties for late filing of tax returns and late payment of the due tax; and finally, in the event where these businesses fail to register within the exemption deadline that expires on April 30, they will incur aDh20,000 late registration penalty.
-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com