Tax Updates - United Arab Emirates Dec. 2022

UAE Ministry of Finance releases Corporate Tax Law

On 9 December 2022, the Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has issued the highly anticipated UAE Corporate Tax Legislation, Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 (‘the Law’) on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses. In addition, MOF released FAQs to provide clarifications to the law.

Following the Consultation Document that was issued in April 2022, the Law clarifies and expands on many key provisions. However, several areas remain to be clarified in subsequent Cabinet and Ministerial decisions as well as guidance from the tax authority.

The Law represents an important development for all businesses in the UAE and must be thoroughly evaluated.

Dubai Customs Notice amending temporary suspension of export and re-export of wheat and wheat flour

The Customs Notice No. 6/2022 has been amended vide Customs Notice No. 12/2022 with effect from 30th November 2022. Article 2 of the Notice No. 6/2022 has been repealed and Article 3 has been amended to mentioning the following:

The export permit issued by MOE shall be valid for 30 days from date of issuance and must be submitted via electronic clearance systems to complete the process for exporting the shipment out of UAE.
The request for such export shall be submitted to MOE through the Ministry website using e-services link.
FTA issues Guidelines for using the new ‘EmaraTax’ platform

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) of the UAE has launched its new integrated and fully developed digital tax administration platform EmaraTax from December 2022. The platform has been successfully activated, providing the taxpayers a seamless experience enabling them to easily use the new digital platform.

With the objective of making the new platform user friendly, the FTA released the following guides for VAT and Excise Tax related services

Account creation/Login
Tax Return filing procedures
Tax Refund procedures
Tax Payment procedures
These guides are intended to ensure that the users are not facing any hindrances while using the newly launched platform.

Austria-United Arab Emirates protocol to tax treaty comes into effect:

The 2021 protocol to the 2003 Tax Treaty between Austria and the UAE enters into force on 1 March 2023 and will apply as from 1 January 2023 for withholding tax purposes.

When in effect, the protocol provides for a 0% withholding tax rate on dividends paid to a company (other than a partnership) that holds directly at least 10% of the capital of the payer company; otherwise, the rate will be 10%.

The withholding tax rates on interest and royalties will not be affected by the protocol.

Corporate Tax