• Amendments offer a better approach to procedures relating to reconsideration, objections, and appeal requests
• New procedures start tomorrow, Monday, November 1, 2021.

 – The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has announced that it is to begin implementing new procedures for tax registrants who apply to the Authority for a review of their decisions, commencing tomorrow (Monday, November 1, 2021).

The procedures relate to tax registrants who apply for reconsideration of - or who submit objections to - the Authority’s decisions. They cover decisions made by the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee, challenge procedures, controls for paying by instalment, and the waiving of administrative penalties.

The Authority asserted that any person has the right to submit a request to the Authority to reconsider any decision or part thereof, it issued in connection to him, provided that the request includes reasons and meets the prescribed conditions, within 40 business days from the date he was notified of the decision.

The Authority will review the reconsideration request and issue a decision, giving their reasons within 40 business days from the date of receiving the application and informing the applicant of its decision within five business days from the date of issuance of the decision.

Additionally, the new amendments allow tax registrants to submit an objection to the Authority’s decision regarding applications of reconsideration to the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee. The objection submitted to the committee will not be admissible in three cases: if a reconsideration request has not been previously submitted to the Authority, if the tax in connection with the objection has not been settled, and if the objection is not submitted within 40 business days from the date of notification of the Authority’s decision.

According to the new amendments, the final decisions issued by the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee regarding disputes which do not exceed AED 100,000 shall be deemed as executory instruments. In contrast, the final decisions of disputes exceeding AED 100,000 shall be deemed as executory instruments if they were not appealed before the competent court within 40 business days from the date of notification of the outcome of the objection. The final decisions of the committee, which has the power of the executory instruments, shall be enforced through the execution judge at the competent court pursuant to the legal provisions.

The FTA confirmed that the new amendments advance a series of development and enhancement plans for tax legislation and procedures designed to facilitate objection to the authority’s decisions by extending objection periods for individuals, improve the efficiency of the tax system, further registrants’ confidence in it, and support taxpayers in fulfilling their tax obligations with easy and transparent procedures.

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Editors’ Note

The Federal Tax Authority was established by Federal Decree-Law No. (13) of 2016 to help diversify the national economy and increase non-oil revenues in the UAE through the management and collection of federal taxes based on international best practices and standards, as well as to provide all means of support to enable taxpayers to comply with the tax laws and procedures. Since its inception in 2017, the FTA has been committed to cooperating with the competent authorities to establish a comprehensive and balanced system to make the UAE one of the first countries in the world to implement a fully electronic tax system that encourages voluntary compliance, with simple procedures based on the highest standards of transparency and accuracy – beginning from registration, to the submission of tax returns, to the payment of due taxes through the Authority’s website: www.tax.gov.ae