UAE VAT Health Check: 12 Tests Before an FTA Review

A UAE VAT health check is a structured review of registration facts, transaction treatment, tax invoices, returns, reconciliations, records and open risks. It should identify evidence gaps before a business relies on a return, responds to an authority request or changes its operating model.

1. Confirm the registration profile Check the legal entity, branches, trade-licence information, Tax Registration Number, effective date, taxable activities and whether the current profile reflects the business actually operating. The FTA’s registration service states that the applicable threshold and documents depend on the taxpayer’s facts and evidence.

2. Reconcile returns to the accounting records Reconcile output tax, input tax, adjustments, credit notes, imports, reverse-charge transactions and the VAT control account to the submitted returns and source records. Investigate unexplained differences rather than carrying them forward as a timing item without evidence.

3. Test invoices and transaction treatment Sample sales and purchase invoices for required fields, tax treatment, dates, customer or supplier information, credit-note controls and links to contracts or delivery evidence. Test zero-rated, exempt, out-of-scope, standard-rated, reverse-charge and mixed-use transactions against the facts and current FTA guidance.

4. Review governance and evidence Check filing deadlines, approval ownership, amendment decisions, document retention, system configuration, reconciliations and the process for handling uncertain transactions. A health check should produce a risk register, evidence list, owner, deadline and recommended next step. It is not an assurance opinion or a guarantee of FTA acceptance.