Request for Voluntary Disclosure Under the UAE Tax Procedures Law

UAE VAT voluntary disclosure should be made by a Taxable person to advise the Federal Tax Authority (the Authority) of an error or omission in such person’s tax return, assessment or refund. These disclosures are made in accordance with Federal Law No. 7 of 2017 on Tax Procedures (the Tax Procedure Law) as well as the Cabinet Decision No. 36 of 2017 on the Executive Regulations on Federal Law No. 7 on Tax procedures (the Executive Regulations).

Voluntary Disclosures in UAE Law

Article 8 of the Executive Regulations prescribes the following:

1. If a Taxable Person becomes aware that a Tax Return or a Tax Assessment is incorrect, with the result that the Payable Tax is less than required, to an amount of more than AED 10,000, he must make a Voluntary Disclosure within 20 business days from the date he became aware of the error.
2. If a Taxable Person becomes aware that a Tax Return or a Tax Assessment is incorrect, resulting in a calculation of Payable Tax is less than required, by not more than AED 10,000, he must:
3. if he is obliged to submit a Tax Return for this period, correct the error in the Tax Return for the Tax Period in which the error has been discovered.
4. if there is no tax return through which the error can be corrected, make a Voluntary Disclosure within 20 business days from the date of becoming aware of the error.
5. If a Taxable Person becomes aware that a Tax refund application submitted is incorrect, resulting in a calculation of a refund exceeding the correct amount, he must make a Voluntary Disclosure within 20 business days from the date he becomes aware of the error.

Article 8 (4) of the Executive Regulations goes further to state that a Voluntary Disclosure must be made in accordance with the form directed by the Authority.

How to go about Submitting a UAE VAT Voluntary Disclosure 

A Voluntary Disclosure can be submitted online via the VAT section of the eServices portal on the Authority’s website.

The online Voluntary Disclosure form will contain the prepopulated details of the Taxable Person and the applicable tax period. The Taxable Person should update the correct information and values for the tax return here and provide the supporting documents. The Taxable Person will also be able to track the process and status via this portal.

Voluntary Disclosures may also be made for Excise Tax.

It is important to note that the Authority has also published a Voluntary Disclosure User Guide on VAT and Excise Tax which is available on their website.