Руководство по акцизному налогу в ОАЭ: Управление естественными недостачами, отчетами ICE и соблюдением требований FTA

Excise duty in UAE is an important part of the country’s tax system, particularly for businesses dealing with products such as tobacco, energy drinks, and carbonated beverages. Companies involved in manufacturing, importing, storing, or distributing these goods must follow strict regulations set by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). These rules help ensure that excise goods are properly monitored and that the correct amount of tax is reported and paid.

To provide further clarity on compliance requirements, the FTA issued Decision No. 1 of 2026, which establishes standards and procedures for handling natural shortages of excise goods in designated zones. A natural shortage occurs when a portion of goods is lost during production, storage, or transportation due to the characteristics of the goods themselves, rather than operational errors.

These decisions are important for businesses subject to excise duty in UAE because they clarify how natural losses should be documented, verified, and reported to the FTA.

Understanding Excise Duty in UAE

Before discussing natural shortages, it is useful to understand how excise duty in UAE works. Excise tax is an indirect tax applied to specific goods that are considered harmful to public health or the environment. These products are known as excise goods and are subject to tax when they are released for consumption.

Examples of excise goods include:

• Табак и табачные изделия
• Энергетические напитки
• Carbonated beverages
• Other goods specified by government decisions

Businesses involved in producing, importing, storing, or distributing these goods must register with the FTA and comply with reporting and payment obligations. Under the excise duty in UAE system, companies must maintain accurate records of the movement and storage of excise goods.

However, during normal operations, a small portion of goods may be lost due to natural factors. The recent FTA decisions provide guidance on how such losses should be treated for excise tax purposes.

What Is a Natural Shortage?

Within the framework of excise duty in UAE, a natural shortage refers to the loss of excise goods that occurs due to the inherent characteristics of the product. This type of loss happens during normal production, storage, or transportation processes and is not caused by negligence or operational mistakes.

For example, some goods may evaporate, settle, or change volume due to temperature, chemical composition, or storage conditions. These situations can lead to unavoidable losses over time.

The FTA recognizes that such losses may occur in legitimate business operations. Therefore, companies should not be required to pay excise tax on goods that are no longer available for consumption due to natural causes. However, businesses must provide proper evidence and follow specific procedures to confirm that the shortage is legitimate.

Standards and Controls for Natural Shortages

The FTA decisions establish several standards to ensure that natural shortages are calculated and reported correctly under excise duty in UAE.

Determining Shortage Percentages

Each warehouse keeper or taxable person must calculate natural shortages separately for every excise product.

The ICE (Independent Competent Entity) will review production or storage data covering at least six months to determine the permissible shortage percentage. If the production period is shorter than six months, the available operational data will be used.

This process helps ensure that the shortage percentage reflects the actual business operations.

Documentation and Record Keeping

Proper documentation is essential for businesses dealing with excise duty in UAE. Companies must maintain detailed records describing their manufacturing or storage processes.

These records should include:

• Production stages where shortages may occur
• Production formulas showing expected losses
• Equipment specifications and manuals
• Historical data on shortages for at least six months

All supporting documents must be retained and provided to the FTA when submitting declarations. Accurate documentation helps businesses demonstrate compliance and reduces the risk of disputes during tax audits.

Strong record-keeping practices are also critical more broadly across the UAE tax framework. Businesses should ensure they maintain all relevant financial and operational documentation in line with the FTA’s requirements, as outlined in Необходимые документы для учёта по корпоративному налогу в ОАЭ.

Reporting Operational Changes

Businesses must also report any operational changes that could affect natural shortage percentages.

Examples include changes in production methods, storage conditions, or equipment. If such changes occur, the company must notify the ICE within 20 business days.

If the changes affect the shortage calculation, the ICE will issue a revised report. This ensures that the excise duty in UAE reporting remains accurate and reflects current operations.

Declaration Limits and Validity of Reports

When submitting declarations to the FTA, the reported shortage must not exceed the percentage stated in the ICE report.

ICE reports are generally valid for one year, and businesses must apply for renewal before the report expires. Renewal applications usually include actual shortage data from the previous year and projected shortages for the upcoming year.

Keeping these reports updated is essential for maintaining compliance with excise duty in UAE requirements.

Inspections and Verification

To ensure proper compliance, both the ICE and the FTA may conduct inspections related to excise duty in UAE.

The ICE may carry out field inspections to review production processes and storage conditions. These inspections help confirm that the information provided in the report reflects the actual business operations.

In addition, the FTA may perform unannounced visits to verify that the reported shortage percentages are consistent with the real conditions at the facility.

Such inspections help maintain transparency and ensure that the rules governing excise duty in UAE are applied fairly.

Procedures for Managing Natural Shortages

Businesses must follow a specific process when dealing with natural shortages under excise duty in UAE.

Сначала кладовщик или налогоплательщик должен запросить оценку у утвержденного ICE. Бизнес должен предоставить подтверждающие документы, связанные с производственными или складскими процессами.

После рассмотрения информации ICE выпустит отчет, подтверждающий допустимый процент нехватки. Затем предприятие сможет подать декларацию в FTA на основании проверенных данных.

Будут приняты только декларации, подтвержденные действующим отчетом ICE. Это гарантирует, что все компании следуют одинаковым процедурам при сообщении о естественных убытках.

Переходные положения

Решения ВТО также включают переходные положения, призванные помочь компаниям адаптироваться к новым требованиям.

Отчеты ICE, выпущенные в течение 12 месяцев с 1 июля 2025 г. будет оставаться действительным до 30 июня 2027 года, при условии, что заявка была подана до 31 марта 2026 года.

Этот переходный период позволяет компаниям, работающим с акцизными сборами в ОАЭ, адаптировать свои внутренние процессы и гарантировать, что их системы отчетности соответствуют новым стандартам.

Заключение

Обновленные процедуры по естественной убыли дают более четкие указания для предприятий, занимающихся подакцизными товарами. Следуя стандартам, введенным FTA, компании могут гарантировать, что они платят акцизный налог только на товары, которые фактически доступны для потребления. В более широком контексте налоговой системы страны предприятиям также важно понимать, как акцизный налог взаимодействует с другими обязательствами, как поясняется в Понимание налоговой системы Дубая: семь категорий налогов, которые нужно учитывать.

Поддержание точной документации, получение действительных отчетов ICE и подача корректных деклараций являются важными шагами для обеспечения соответствия. Компании, которые следуют этим процедурам, будут лучше подготовлены к проверкам и аудитам, одновременно снижая риск штрафов.

В целом, предложенная FTA система способствует созданию более прозрачного и последовательного подхода к управлению естественными дефицитами, подпадающими под действие акцизного налога в ОАЭ.