The requirements for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing vary greatly from Free Zone to Free Zone and depending on the type of company.
An important factor to consider in this regard is the introduction of VAT in the United Arab Emirates and the GCC countries starting from 1st January 2018.
The VAT rate of 5% in the United Arab Emirates is applicable to all goods and services, except for education, healthcare, oil and gas, transportation and real estate.
Companies that reach a minimum taxable amount between supplies and transactions of AED 375,000 per year are required to register for VAT in the UAE. If the taxable amount is between 187,500 AED and 375,000 AED per year, they can choose whether to register for VAT or not.
Understanding how to keep your company accounts and calculating the amount owed could be quite difficult, so it becomes essential to analyze the situation on a case by case basis with the support of a specialized professional. Only in this way it will be possible to verify how best to correctly implement the local tax regime and properly manage the books.
