Oct 21, 2024 
VAT
Understanding UAE VAT: What’s Taxable and What’s Exempt?
Value Added Tax is an indirect tax which is levied on the supply of goods and services. There are only a few items exempted from VAT in the UAE. Few other items are zero-rated and the rest of the items are standard rated.
What do you think is the zero rated item among the following:
- Retail purchases
- Repairs and maintenance services
- Educational services
- Hotels and restaurants
- Nurseries, preschools and schools
- Higher educational institutions owned or funded by Federal or local Government.
- Goods and Services supplied by a ‘qualifying educational institution’ to persons who are not enrolled in it;
- Any Goods, other than educational materials provided by a ‘qualifying educational institution’, that are consumed or transformed by the students being taught by it;
- Uniforms or any other clothing which are required to be worn by a ‘qualifying educational institution’, irrespective of whether or not they are supplied by such institution as part of the supply of educational services.
- Electronic devices used in educational services, irrespective of whether or not supplied by a ‘qualifying educational institution’ as part of the supply of educational services.
- Food and beverages supplied at a ‘qualifying educational institution’ including supplies from vending machines or vouchers in respect of food and beverages.
- Field trips, unless these are directly related to the curriculum of an education service and are not predominantly recreational.
- Extracurricular activities provided by or through a ‘qualifying educational institution’ for a fee additional to the fee for the education service.
- A supply of membership in a student organisation.
- Another exception to zero rating is the provision of school transportation, which falls under “domestic transportation” and hence is
