Dubai: The 'tax agents' have been classified by the Federal Tax Authority to work on compliance measures for taxpayers. A flexible and clear online procedure has been brought in for tax payers to select a specialised tax agent suitable to the sector their economic activity falls under.
A list of 10 sectors have been categorised based on 'the cumulative real-life experiences of accredited tax agents registered with the Authority'.
The FTA through this aims to raise 'customer satisfaction among taxpayers' regarding the services of Tax Agents. The new classification service can be availed by accessing the authorised tax agents register through the FTA website, click on the ‘filter agents’ option to classify them according to specialisation or sector, and choose one of the agents listed in the required sector.
The new classification sectors include businesses subject to VAT, corporate tax, SMEs (Muwafaq package), excise tax registration, registration of warehouse keepers and designated areas, excise goods registration, tax refunds for citizens building a new home and for mosques, government and charitable entities, foreign businesses (non-residents), and real estate owners.
The number of approved Tax Agents classified according to their sectors 319, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the total of 454 agents registered with the Authority.
“The Federal Tax Authority launched the Tax Agents Classification initiative as part of its strategy to contribute to the government efforts being made to advance the UAE’s position as a centre for the new economy," said Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director-General of the FTA.
Arriving at the classification
The Tax Agents Classification was launched after a study into the needs of taxpayers looking to deal with the Authority through agents. The study found many FTA customers face difficulty in choosing the appropriate tax agent beacuse of the 'growing number of authorised agents registered with it.
Agents have a say
The agent can choose the tax sectors or services they wish to be classified in by providing supporting documents, such as letters of recommendation from taxpayers and certificates of experience.
