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Compliance
Requesting an FTA clarification
Most VAT questions have an answer in the legislation. A few do not, and on those the difference between a defensible position and an expensive assumption is a piece of paper with the FTA's name on it.
- Form
- Private clarification
- Applies to
- Your facts only
- Not available for
- Settled law
A written question, a written answer.
It binds the FTA on the transaction described, not generally.
Questions already answered in guidance are returned.
How it runs
- The question is tested against existing guidance firstPublic clarifications, guides and the regulation itself. If the answer is already published, a request wastes weeks.
- The facts are written preciselyA clarification binds only on the facts described, so a vague description buys a vague protection.
- The legal analysis goes in with itA request that sets out the competing readings gets a sharper answer than one that simply asks what to do.
- The response is applied and filedInto the treatment, the ledger and the audit file.
What we ask you for
- A precise description of the transaction
- Contracts and invoices behind it
- The treatment you have applied so far, and why
- The amounts at stake
What we see go wrong
- Asking about something already covered by a public clarification.
- Describing the facts loosely, then relying on the answer for a transaction that differs.
- Waiting for a response before filing a return that is already due. The deadline does not pause.
Questions we get asked
What is an FTA clarification?
A written response from the Federal Tax Authority on how the tax law applies to a specific transaction you describe. It binds the FTA on those facts.
When is a clarification worth requesting?
When the amount at stake is material, the treatment is genuinely unsettled, and no published guidance answers it. Otherwise the legislation and the public clarifications are faster.
Does a clarification protect me generally?
No. It applies to the facts set out in the request. Change the facts and the protection does not follow.
General information about UAE VAT, current at 10 August 2026. It is not tax advice and does not create a client relationship — see our disclaimer. Confirm your own position with the FTA, or with us, before acting.
Send the return. We will tell you where it stands.
No charge for the first look. If nothing needs doing we will say so, and if something does you will know what it costs before you decide.