Breaking News: UAE tax penalties reduced and discounts granted

May 6, 2021

 

On 28 April 2021, the UAE Cabinet of Ministers issued Decision No. 49/2021 amending provisions of Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 regulating tax penalties (the “new Decision”).

Important highlights:

– Late payment penalties reduced from 1% per day to 4% per month.
– 300% cap still applies.
– New starting date for calculating late payment penalties.
– Reductions for prior penalties to be made.
– Effective sixty days as of 28 April 2021.

Detailed updates below:

Penalty calculation:

Most notable of the new amendments is that the late payment penalties have been reduced from 1% per day to 4% per month.

The 300% cap on the late payment penalties still applies.

The new calculation of late payment penalties will be as follows:

• 2% of the unpaid tax immediately past the due date.
• 4% per month thereafter commencing a month after the due date.

Due date / start of penalties:

In October 2020, the UAE Federal Supreme Court ordered that late payment penalties should apply retrospective to the voluntary disclosure, calculated as of the date of the original tax return.

However, the new Decision states that the due date for the purposes of calculating late payment penalties shall be:

• 20 weekdays as of the date of submission of a voluntary disclosure.
• 20 weekdays as of the date of receipt of a tax assessment.

The text of the new Decision is explicit and reads to apply the late payment penalties 20 weekdays from the date of submission of a voluntary disclosure or receipt of a tax assessment, as opposed to retrospectively from the date of the original tax return.

(This should be read in caveat with the Supreme Court judgment of October 2020.)

Discounts for previous penalties:

 The new Decision grants the Federal Tax Authority the right to reduce previously unpaid penalties to 30% of the total of such penalties where the following conditions are met:

• The penalties were applied under the previous Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 regulating tax penalties.
• The registrant has paid all taxes due by 31 December 2021 at most.
• By 31 December 2021, at most, the registrant must have paid 30% of the total tax penalties owed until the coming into effect of the new Decision (i.e., sixty days as of 28 April).

Author: Mahmoud Abuwasel