Update tax records by end of March: FTA

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has called on registrants who have yet to update their tax records to take advantage of an extended ‘grace period’ to submit their tax records, stating that submissions received before the end of March 2025 will not incur any administrative penalties.

In a reminder issued on Thursday, the FTA stated that according to the Cabinet Decision on the Executive Regulations of the Federal Decree-Law on Tax Procedures, registrants shall notify the FTA, in the form and mechanism approved by it, within twenty (20) business days of any change to registrants’ data kept with the FTA.

Failure to comply with such notifications within that period may result in administrative penalties.

The FTA also clarified that the necessary data to be updated during the specified legal period include; name and address of the business, email address, trade licence activities, legal entity type, partnership agreements for unincorporated partnerships and articles of association or its equivalent, nature of business, and any address from which the business is conducted by the registrant.

To encourage registrants to update their records with the Authority, the Cabinet issued a decision last year to apply a grace period during which registrants can update their tax records, explaining that no administrative penalties will be imposed on registrants who update their tax records from 1st January 2024 to 31st March 2025.

The Cabinet Decision further noted that in cases where administrative penalties had already been imposed – during the grace period – as a result of not updating the registrants’ information within (20) working days, these fines will be waived and reimbursed.

The FTA stressed that this decision was made to continue supporting taxpayers and encouraging them to comply with tax procedures and legislation. It also provided more facilities to simplify tax procedures across business sectors and enhance a more effective contribution to the growth of the national economy.

The FTA encouraged those seeking further clarification to read the public clarification issued on the grace period for updating information in tax records, which can be accessed through the Public Clarifications service on the FTA’s official website.