VAT Compliance UAE Services for Clearer Tax Controls

Prior to performing the review, the entity, tax periods, transaction types, and expected outcomes will be agreed upon with the management.

The following tasks may be covered under the service:

• Review of the VAT records before using them to prepare returns and/or reports for the management.
• Comparison of sales ledger, purchases ledger, and VAT ledger balances with the available documentation.
• Finding any gaps in the documentation, discrepancies in the coding of VAT and unidentified differences.
• Determining the existence of any accounting or transaction issues requiring VAT expertise.
• Finding any outstanding issues that need to be listed in the actions list.

VAT entries arise from regular business transactions. Sales, purchases, imports, exports, credit notes, claims, or adjustments might influence the VAT position.

As part of our compliance process, we analyze how such data is being processed from the original document through accounting records up to VAT entries.

Sales & Output Tax Compliance Process

Selected sales records will be compared against invoices, credit notes, income accounts, and VAT computations.

If there are various sources of income, several sales outlets, and branches, separate flows of transactions may be examined separately within the agreed scope of the project.

Such process might result in:

• Differences between sales report and accounting records.
• Entries that require an explanation.
• Different VAT codes for similar transactions.
• Credit notes that are not related to the original invoice.
• Transactions that need separate tax review.

Purchases and Input Tax

A selected number of purchases are matched with the related documentation of the suppliers, the accounting entries, and the purpose of the transaction as described by management.

The exercise may reveal unsupported figures, duplicates, lack of supplier information, lack of a tax invoice or a purchase that may require further evaluation prior to the inclusion of the input tax in the VAT position.

Checks on Tax Invoices and Credit Notes

A selected number of tax invoices and credit notes are evaluated against the accounting entries related to them.

This may involve:

• Invoice and credit note date.
• Information on supplier and customer.
• Tax Registration Number.
• Taxable value and VAT amount.
• Description of the supply made.
• Relationship of a credit note with the underlying transaction.

Reconciliation of VAT Ledgers

The VAT control accounts are reconciled with the sales ledger, purchases ledger, return calculations, and general ledger balances.

Any variance that arises is separately accounted for and not deferred to without an explanation being provided.

Imports, Exports, and Cross-Border Records

In case there are companies engaged in international trade activities, the scope may extend to include customs documentation, imports, exports, reverse charge accounting and accounting records.

Transactions that require interpretation are taken out of the compliance review process.

1. 1
   Establish the Period and Scope of the Review

   This entails agreeing upon the legal entity, TRN, tax periods, business activities, accounting system and transaction flow that will be subject to the review. Any known problems, adjustments and other issues may also be captured at this point in time.

2. 2
   Collect the Necessary Documentation

   Management provides us with the agreed-upon documentation that includes but is not limited to sales/purchases lists, VAT ledgers, VAT invoices, VAT credit notes, VAT imports and VAT return calculation. The missing documentation is put down in a document tracker for better management of responsibilities.

3. 3
   Conduct Reconciliation and Transaction Review

   This entails comparing the VAT calculation provided with the accounting system and reviewing transactions based on the agreed upon scope. The VAT Compliance UAE review captures transactions according to type of transaction, tax period and value and the necessary follow up.

4. 4
   Review Results With Management

   Results are presented in business-friendly language. Management can supply any missing documents and help explain the business context and ensure that the correct approach to any identified items is known. Items involving technical expertise, reversals or systems modifications are separated.

5. 5
   Resolve or Monitor Outstanding Items

   Successful outcomes and any outstanding issues are documented separately. Where there is continuing assistance, intervals for the follow-ups can be the same as those followed by the client in his or her tax year and transactions.

After the findings are discussed, management can decide how each identified matter should be addressed. The next steps depend on the nature of the issue, available documents and agreed service scope.

• Accounting entries or VAT codes may require correction.
• Missing or inconsistent documents may need to be collected or updated.
• Reconciliation differences may require further explanation.
• Technical VAT matters may require separate VAT consultancy support.
• Unresolved items can remain recorded in the action tracker until the required information is available.

Any return amendment, technical opinion, FTA communication or additional work will be handled only where it is separately agreed and appropriately authorised. The review does not guarantee a particular tax or regulatory outcome.

The service concentrates on practical points that affect the business's VAT recordkeeping. This is not an assessment of the specific legal or tax situation of the business.

Status of Registration and Business Changes

Turnover, activities, ownership information, branch information, and the business's structure may have changed since initial VAT registration.

In the course of reviewing, we can find information that should be checked separately for registration status or updated for the business's tax record.

Where registration assistance is required, businesses can refer to GetMyAccounting's VAT Registration in UAE service for the relevant application scope.

Return and Payment Calendar

The review can consider the company's assigned tax period, internal closing dates, document deadlines and management approval responsibilities.

The purpose is to maintain a clear internal calendar based on the business's EmaraTax profile rather than applying the same reporting cycle to every company.

VAT return preparation, payment approval and submission authority should be confirmed separately within the agreed engagement.

Supplier and Input Tax Verification

Supplier information and transaction records can affect the supporting basis for input tax deductions. Before input tax is included in the VAT position, the business should consider whether the supplier details, transaction documents, payment records and commercial background are consistent with the supply received.

However, the degree of verification may be dependent on the transaction's nature, value, and circumstances, as well as the VAT guidelines of the UAE.

Where included in the agreed scope, the review may consider:

• Supplier identification and available business information.
• Commercial background of selected transactions.
• Payment methods and supporting records.
• Consistency between the supply and the supplier’s stated activities.
• Availability of invoices, agreements and transaction evidence.
• Internal responsibility for completing and documenting supplier checks.

The purpose of these checks is to establish whether the selected transactions have a clear and consistent trail from the supplier document to the accounting entry and related payment record. Management remains responsible for approving the VAT treatment applied to each transaction.

Retention Requirements and Record Organization

Retention requirements must be addressed based on the VAT laws of the UAE and the type of record being kept. Accordingly, the review will not apply one single retention period to all records.

The records can however be classified based on type, period and relation to the VAT situation.

Changes to Accounting and Invoicing Systems

Changes to the accounting systems or invoices used, VAT codes and transaction processes may impact the information used to report on VAT.

If the company is preparing itself for e-Invoicing or any other changes to its VAT systems, then the review can also include the consideration of invoices, VAT codes and data transfer.

The output is contingent upon the agreed scope of the review and may include any of the following deliverables:

• Summary of scope which shall include the entities, period, and transactions to be reviewed.
• Reconciliation schedules of sales/purchases/VAT transactions.
• Discrepancies in the documentation and missing documents.
• Exception list for management actions needed.
• Documentations log and assignments.
• Transactions needing technical analysis.
• Internal checklist for each tax period.
• Follow-up list of completed and open items.

The above deliverables will be provided to assist your management team and are not a certification, audit or legal opinion.

It may become necessary when dealing with organizations that:

• Have increased transaction volumes.
• Have multiple branches and sources of revenue.
• Their VAT ledger does not match their return calculation.
• Supplier documentation is always being received late.
• The business deals with imports/exports or cross-border transactions.
• There has been a change in accounting software or VAT codes.
• There are unusual balances from previous tax periods.
• The VAT responsibility has been transferred to another employee or service provider.
• There is a desire for an extra check prior to preparing returns.
• The business needs to organize its documentation for an information request.

This can be organized as often as required by the business – monthly, quarterly, or for a specific historical period.

This service focuses on VAT controls, transaction records, reconciliations, supporting documents and exception tracking.

It does not repeat the complete process covered by other dedicated VAT services:

• VAT registration covers the registration position and application process.
• VAT return filing covers the preparation and submission of a specific return.
• VAT refund support covers the review and submission of a refundable position.
• Technical VAT interpretation, tax opinions and complex transaction analysis are handled separately under VAT Consultancy Services UAE where required.
• Accounting clean-up covers the correction or reconstruction of underlying books.

If the review identifies an issue outside the agreed compliance scope, it is reported separately before additional work is undertaken.

Without being explicitly stated in writing, the standard review process doesn't cover the following tasks:

• Managing clients’ bank accounts.
• Authorization to pay VAT.
• Business decisions made by the management team.
• Any form of legal representation or VAT disputes.
• Examination of an external audit or assurance report.
• Implementation of a new accounting system.
• Creation of missing record keeping.
• Filling of applications for registration, refunds or returns.
• Determination of the result of an FTA review or request.

In case of any additional help needed, GetMyAccounting will clarify the issue and establish the scope of work.

The required documents will vary depending on the specific nature of the business and time period of the review. They could include:

• Certificate of VAT registration and VAT period information.
• Returns and workings that have been submitted previously.
• Transactions of sales and purchases.
• Ledger accounts of output and input VAT.
• Samples of VAT invoices and credit notes.
• Import details.
• Details of exports.
• Transactions associated with payments.
• Details of master supplier files and supplier onboarding.
• Manual journals and manual adjustments.
• Correspondence from the past in the review period.

VAT Compliance UAE support from GetMyAccounting provides a defined process for reviewing transaction records, reconciling VAT balances and tracking unresolved matters without combining registration, return filing, refunds and technical advisory into one unclear service.

Businesses requiring wider support across accounting, tax and financial reporting can explore the services provided by GetMyAccounting.

The engagement can begin with a specific tax period, an identified concern or a broader review of the company's existing VAT controls.