Compliance · Quarterly VAT returns
VAT return filing.
Signed, filed, defensible.
Your recurring VAT201, run as a controlled quarterly cycle — source capture, line-by-line classification, a position memo behind every contested treatment, manager review and partner sign-off, then filing on EmaraTax inside the 28-day window. Every return archived, with its evidence, for five years.
VAT return filing in the UAE — the short answer
UAE VAT returns (VAT201) are filed on EmaraTax — quarterly for most businesses, monthly where the FTA assigns it — with payment due within 28 days of the period end. Late filing costs AED 1,000 the first time and AED 2,000 if repeated within 24 months, and records must be kept for five years (15 for real estate). We run the whole cycle as a partner-reviewed quarterly engagement.
What the engagement covers
VAT Return Filing, end to end.
Source capture
Sales, purchase and expense records pulled each quarter and reconciled to the ledger before classification.
Line classification
Standard-rated, zero-rated, exempt, reverse charge, out of scope — every line tagged with its basis.
Position memos
A short memo behind every contested treatment, so each judgement call has a documented, defensible basis.
Sign-off, filing & archive
Manager review, partner sign-off, the VAT201 filed on EmaraTax — and the evidence file archived for five years.
The engagement, end to end
How we run it.
01
Capture
Pull the quarter’s sales, purchase and expense data and reconcile it to the ledger.
02
Classify
Tag every line — standard, zero-rated, exempt, reverse charge — with the basis recorded.
03
Resolve
Write a position memo on each contested line and resolve open queries to zero.
04
Sign off
Manager review of the draft VAT201, then partner sign-off before anything is filed.
05
File & archive
File on EmaraTax with payment inside the 28-day window; archive the evidence file for five years.
FAQ
VAT Return Filing, answered.
Five controlled steps: we capture and reconcile the quarter’s source data, classify every line with its basis, write a position memo on any contested treatment, put the draft VAT201 through manager review and partner sign-off, then file with payment on EmaraTax inside the 28-day window. The full evidence file — return, workings and memos — goes into a five-year archive.
AED 1,000 for the first offence, and AED 2,000 if it is repeated within 24 months. Each VAT201 is due, with payment, within 28 days of the period end — shifted where the deadline falls on a UAE weekend or public holiday. Our cycle is built backwards from that date, so the partner-signed return is ready before the window closes.
Yes. Recoverable excess input VAT can be carried forward against future returns or reclaimed through the VAT311 refund form on EmaraTax. The FTA typically reviews a claim within 20 business days — it can extend — and will ask for supporting evidence such as your top-value tax invoices. Because every return we file is archived with its workings, assembling that evidence is a retrieval exercise, not a reconstruction.
Five years for most VAT records, and 15 years for records relating to real estate. That covers tax invoices, credit notes, import documents and the workings behind each return — and the FTA can request any of it during an audit or a refund review. We archive every filed VAT201 with its complete evidence file, so retrieval never depends on a scramble through old inboxes.