UAE Reviews Tax Authority Achievements As Report Identifies Over 537,000 Corporate Tax Registrants And 511,000 Signed Up For VAT

Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA), chaired a board meeting of the authority on Tuesday, April 29.

During the meeting, he was briefed on the Authority’s achievements and key performance indicators (KPIs) during the first quarter of 2025.

UAE Federal Tax Authority

Sheikh Maktoum was also briefed on the FTA’s development plans for the next quarter and how they align with the directives of the UAE leadership to continuously upgrade the tax system and improve the FTA’s efficacy in supporting financial sustainability.

During the meeting, held at the FTA’s headquarters in Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum emphasised the importance of the sustainable development of the tax system.

In addition, Sheikh Maktoum reviewed ongoing efforts to enhance the FTA’s global status in the tax sector, particularly through the development of technical, legislative, and procedural infrastructure that ensures the provision of exceptional customer services.

These efforts focus on facilitating and accelerating the administration, collection, and implementation of federal taxes while maintaining excellence in line with the highest standards of governance and transparency.

One of the FTA’s key objectives is to encourage voluntary tax compliance, which strengthens the country’s global competitiveness and supports the growth of the national economy.

Sheikh Maktoum was also briefed on the FTA’s achievements related to the implementation of the Corporate Tax Law, including the launch of all core corporate tax services provided to customers.

These services cover the entire customer journey, which includes corporate tax registration, filing returns, tax payment, voluntary declarations, and refund requests.

Discussions also covered the finalisation of internal services to support customers, as well as the issuance or several new publications this year to further enhance the customer experience.

The meeting outlined the FTA’s efforts to issue a series of guidelines to supplement the 56 corporate tax awareness events it has conducted, as well as its communication initiatives to encourage registered taxpayers to complete their corporate tax registration.

In additional briefings, a comprehensive report on the achievements, results, and developments of the Authority’s main ongoing projects was shared.

The report showed a significant increase in the number of corporate tax registrants to 537,340, and VAT registrants to 510,940, while excise tax registrants rose to 1,756.

The expansion of the tax system’s customer base was also reflected in the increase in the number of registered tax agents, which reached 676 during the same period.

According to the report, the Authority approved 1,656 new applications for citizens who requested refunds for the tax they paid on constructing their new residences, with a total value of AED148m ($40.3m) reclaimed, during the first quarter of 2025.

The report further highlighted the FTA’s efforts to develop and enhance tax policies according to its strategy to support tax enforcement in accordance with tax legislation and global best practices.

Updates shared at the meeting also included the FTA’s continued implementation and upgrades of the EmaraTax platform to improve service quality.

This is part of an overall digitisation strategy across its services aimed at facilitating voluntary tax compliance while providing more convenient, efficient services to customers.