Stock-Corporate-Tax
Still not started on your corporate tax registration? if your business has a March or April license, June 30, 2024 is the deadline. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Dubai: The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) is doing its part in easing the process for businesses registering for corporate tax purposes. The onus is on businesses to do their part and make sure they have provided all the details required for tax registration purposes.

The second of the key deadlines for UAE companies is June 30, 2024, by which time all entities with business licenses bearing a March or April stamp will have to register for corporate tax. Failure or delays to do so will invite penalties of Dh10,000.

“The Federal Tax Authority has had multiple reach out sessions and communication on the deadlines with UAE businesses,” said Girish Chand, Senior Partner at MCA Consultants. “Generally, the registration granting process for corporate tax is quick. Also, the FTA has removed the need to update profile documents for clients who are already registered for VAT.”

That is quite a good break for businesses. Since they already would have registered with the FTA for VAT, the need to do the same for corporate tax can be just the add on.

Not registered yet for corporate tax? Try this
Create a new user profile. New users can access the EmaraTax platform on the FTA’s e-Services portal, where they can create an account using their email address and phone number. Once this is done, they can proceed with registration by identifying the taxpayer, selecting the ‘Corporate Tax registration’ option, and then completing the registration.

“The EmaraTax registration portal has been setup to handle VAT and corporate tax through a single login,” said Chand. “The corporate tax registration numbers will have similar TRN (Tax Registration Number) as VAT with a suffix of 1. There is no duplication as there is a single login and separate tabs for VAT and corporate tax.”

How are businesses faring on registration?

Initially, there was some slowness sin the whole process, but the FTA has been issuing regular updates on which businesses should take up registration as a priority. This is where the month of the business license being issued assumes significance.

Like how a January or February license meant they had until the May 31 deadline to comply, those with March or April license issue datelines need to do so before June 30, and so on.

A 4-step process

The FTA in its latest statement emphasized that corporate tax registration is ‘available at all times’ through the EmaraTax platform.

It involves a four-step registration that would take about 30 minutes on average.

“To further ease the process, taxable persons already registered for VAT or excise tax can access their accounts on EmaraTax, complete the Corporate Tax registration request and submit the required documents,” the FTA said.

“Once the registration request is approved, applicants will be issued a Tax Registration Number (TRN) for corporate tax purposes.”

Taxable persons can submit corporate tax registration requests through government service centres across the UAE, where ‘specialists can assist’. “These centres offer electronic services that meet government standards and are managed by trained and qualified staff to ensure quality service delivery,” the FTA added.

Once the application process is complete - and the data entered is verified - the FTA officers will review the applications, and the applicant receives the TRN via the email listed in the application.

Where do businesses get it wrong

According to Chand, “primarily it is a case of awareness. There have also been some cases of documentation not being up to date, such as the trade licences, owner details, etc. There are still some ambiguities around offshore entities and their applicable registration dates.”