Saudi Arabia’s tax authority has announced the first public consultation of the draft value added tax (VAT) law, the first in the six-nation Gulf bloc.
The announcement comes after the Kingdom confirmed imposition of five percent VAT from January 1, 2018, following the ratification of the VAT and Excise Tax treaty this month.
In a notice published on its website, the General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GAZT) said the purpose of the public consultation is to invite views on the proposed VAT law and will help to provide “significant value” to the successful implementation of the GCC unified agreement for VAT.
The last day of feedback submission is June 29, since the bylaws are expected to be drafted and approved in the third quarter 2017.
“This consultation is an important opportunity for the public and businesspeople to share feedback on the draft law for VAT,” a local newspaper quoted Tareq Al Sadhan, acting director general of GAZT, as saying.
“This is the first time a tax like this will be introduced in the GCC so we are working hard to understand the needs and perspectives of businesses to ensure we can support them through the VAT implementation process,” he said.
The UAE has also announced imposing VAT from January 1, 2018, with the Ministry of Finance holding series of workshops to update companies and consultants on the new tax rules and legislations.
Follow us on
