As we approach 31 March 2025, businesses with a VAT year ending 31 March 2020 should take note:
Under the UAE Tax Procedures Law, the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has a 5 year window to conduct audits or issue assessments for a tax period, unless exceptions apply.
For VAT periods ending 31 March 2020, this limitation period will expire on 31 March 2025. If the FTA does not issue an audit notice before this date, it generally loses the right to audit that period (barring cases of evasion or non-registration).
What should you do now?
- (a) Check your FTA-registered email, including spam/junk folders, for any audit notifications.
- (b) Log in to the FTA portal and verify your correspondence section.
- (c) Ensure records for financial year 2019–2020 (VAT returns, invoices, ledgers) are intact and accessible.
- (d) Consider a voluntary internal review to identify and rectify any past compliance issues.
Disclaimer: Content posted is for informational and knowledge sharing purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice related to tax, finance or accounting. The view/interpretation of the publisher is based on the available Law, guidelines and information. Each reader should take due professional care before you act after reading the contents of that article/post. No warranty whatsoever is made that any of the articles are accurate and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax or accounting advice.
Contributor
A practicing Chartered Accountant, with an experience of leading roles in private and multinational financial institutions for over 20 years. Extensive expertise in strategic and tax advisory, ERM (Enterprise Risk Management) implementation, process design - review across credit risk & operational risk, audit function and regulatory engagement.
Expertise in connecting with people and processes to arrive at the effective value preposition for business, derived from hands-on experience of working in multicultural and multinational organisations. Experience of working in Asia, Africa & Middle East.
Hands-on experience in engaging with regulators and governing bodies in the space of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF). This work involves understanding the strategic intent and implementation objectives for compliance.
