Muscat: In roughly 180 days Value Added Tax (VAT) will come into effect in Oman.
The Government Communication Centre has shared a series of tweets on what items will be excluded from VAT. The list mentions that basic food commodities, healthcare services, education services and related goods and services as well as financial services will not attract VAT.
Similarly, in the scope of land and real estate, undeveloped or vacant lands and resale of residential real estate and leasing of real estate for residential purposes, VAT will not apply.
Public transport services, import of international transport and environmental transport of goods or passengers and the supply of related services too will not attract VAT.
Import of medicines and medical equipment as well as supplies for people with disabilities and charities will not attract VAT.
Import of gold, silver and platinum as investment, import of maritime, air and land transport vehicles for transport of goods and passengers for commercial purposes and related services are out of the purview of VAT as are import of aircraft, rescue ships and such products.
VAT will not be imposed on the import of crude oil, its products and derivatives as well as natural gas.
VAT will be applied at a rate of 5 per cent on goods and services, when it comes into effect after about six months in the Sultanate.
Oman News Agency said the 5% VAT Oman would be imposing is considered one of the lowest compared to international rates. The impact of cost on buyers and consumers will be minimal.
The GCC unified agreement on VAT, signed by member states in November 2016, defined the principles on which the VAT law is based in each GCC state. Accordingly every member state may opt for different tax adjustments.
