Every month, UAE finance teams either overclaim input VAT on staff and hospitality costs and build up penalty exposure, or underclaim it and quietly donate money to the FTA. The rules sit in Article 53 of the VAT Executive Regulations (Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017, as amended), and they are more precise than most […]

By CA Mohammed Rinshad P R – Harrison & Morgan Business Advisory More than 68,600 UAE businesses have already had their AED 10,000 corporate tax late-registration penalty waived under the Federal Tax Authority’s ongoing initiative – and the FTA expects that number to pass 91,000. The single most important date left in this story is

Finding an error in a VAT return you already filed triggers the same two questions in every finance team: do we have to tell the FTA, and what will it cost? Since 14 April 2026, the answers changed materially – Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 replaced the old tiered voluntary disclosure penalties (5% to

For most UAE companies, 2026 is the year the corporate tax regime stops being theoretical. If your first tax period ended on 31 December 2025, your first return – and any tax payable – is due by 30 September 2026. This guide walks through the filing on EmaraTax field by field, the elections you must

Every year, businesses lose winnable government and ADNOC-linked tenders for a reason that has nothing to do with price: a weak In-Country Value (ICV) score. What makes this frustrating is that the score is highly controllable – if you understand how the formula weighs each dirham you spend. This guide breaks down how the ICV

“We’re in a free zone, so we pay 0% tax.” It is the most common – and most dangerous – assumption in the UAE Corporate Tax era. The 0% rate is real, but it is conditional, and getting the conditions wrong can push your income to 9% or cost you your free zone tax status

Many UAE businesses have anti-money-laundering (AML) obligations without realising it – and the penalties for getting it wrong run from AED 50,000 into the millions. If you are what the regulations call a DNFBP, you must register on the UAE’s reporting systems and maintain an AML framework. This guide gives you a fast self-check and

Choosing an Accredited Service Provider (ASP) is the most important decision in your UAE e-invoicing project. Get it right and go-live is smooth; get it wrong and you face rejected invoices, integration delays, and a scramble before the deadline. This guide explains what an ASP does, the deadlines that apply, and a clear checklist for

Transfer pricing used to be something only large multinationals worried about. Under the UAE Corporate Tax regime, that has changed: every business with related-party transactions now has obligations – the only question is how heavy they are. This guide explains, in plain terms, who needs full transfer pricing documentation, who does not, and what you

Most growing UAE businesses reach a point where the founder can no longer be the finance function. The bookkeeping is handled, but nobody is owning cash-flow forecasting, pricing, fundraising, board reporting, or the strategic questions that decide whether the next year is profitable or painful. Hiring a full-time Chief Financial Officer is one answer –