Excise Tax Registration

Indirect tax levied on specific goods.

The intent of Excise Tax is to reduce consumption of these commodities while also raising revenues for the government that can be spent on public services. All businesses that import, produce or release excise goods from a designated zone must consider their registration requirements and compliance responsibilities related to filing and paying Excise Tax.

The UAE, Excise Tax is currently applied on the following goods:

1. Tobacco and tobacco products.

2. Liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools.

3. Electronic smoking devices and tools.

4. Carbonated drinks (note that this excludes sparkling water).

5. Energy drinks.

6. Sweetened drinks.

Excise goods with tax rates are the following:

1. Tobacco and tobacco products (100%),

2. Energy drinks (100%), and

3. Carbonated drinks (50%).

Businesses may need to register for excise tax in UAE, even if they are not producers or importers of excise goods. Registration is required if a business stockpiles excise goods before the federal excise tax UAE introduction, or if they release excise goods from a Designated Zone without being registered for UAE Excise Tax. Taxable activities cannot be carried out without registration for Excise Tax.

What is a stockpiler?

Stockpiler is a person or business that holds a stock of excise goods for business purposes and cannot prove that Excise Tax has been previously paid on these goods. If a person or business is not considered to be a stockpiler, it will not need to account for Excise Tax on goods owned after the introduction of the tax that were purchased before the introduction of Excise Tax. The Excise Tax Executive Regulations contain further details of the circumstances in which you would be considered to be a stockpiler.

1. Every business that is involved in the activities above is required to register. However, an entity may be entitled to a registration exemption in the event that the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) deems it acceptable that you are not regularly importing or releasing excise goods from Designated Zones.

2. An entity still needs to register even when it already possesses a Tax Registration Number.


3. A different TRN for UAE Excise Tax will be given when the registration application is successful.

4. There can only be one TRN for Excise Tax for one entity. The responsibility of having no duplications in registration lies on you.

5. Businesses can register using the Online Excise Tax registration UAE facility provided by Federal Tax Authority

6. The excise registration procedure will only take an estimated time of 20 minutes.

7. Since the entries that you input are not automatically saved, it is advisable for you to always click the “Save as Draft” every time you add any information on the form.

8. If you are inactive for 10 minutes, you will be automatically logged out for data security purposes.

9. A TRN for Excise Tax purposes will be provided once the application is approved. This will let you submit your tax returns. Your online excise payment will also be activated so you can pay excise tax online. The services that are related to Excise Tax will be available as well.

Various documents that are related to the activities that your business does will be asked during the excise tax in Dubai registration procedure. The profile and legal status of the applicant will have an effect on what kind of documents will be presented. It will be more convenient in your part if you have below documents before starting the application:

1. Trade License(s) (if applicable)

2. Certificate of Incorporation (if applicable)

3. Customs number(s) issued by Customs department(s) (if applicable)

4. Passport, Emirates ID of the manager, owner, and senior management

5. Authorized signatory documents

6. Articles of Association/Partnership Agreement/Club or Association Registration/Law or Decree (if applicable)

7. Bank Account details

Important Definitions

Businesses involved in commercial, industrial, professional, or trade activities are required to follow certain regulations in order to operate legally. One such regulation is paying taxes on excise goods. However, there are some unscrupulous stockpilers who hoard these goods without paying taxes, which not only harms the government’s revenue but also creates an unfair advantage over law-abiding competitors.

To prevent such practices, authorities need to closely monitor the supply chain and detect any anomalies. This can be done through regular audits, inspections, and record-keeping. Additionally, the government can impose penalties and fines on those who violate the rules, as well as provide incentives for those who comply with them.