The UAE’s tax authorities have noted a rise in VAT refund requests from tourists in the first half of 2024. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) reported that the number of transactions processed through the digital VAT refund system for tourists surged to 2.7M in H1 2024, up from 2.55M in H1 2023.
This increase is reflected in the issuance of “Tax-free Tags” by retail stores connected to the system, leading to a daily average of around 15,000 transactions, compared to 14,180 in the same period of 2023, marking a 5.62% rise.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, FTA Director-General, attributed this rise to the UAE’s tourism boom and ongoing enhancements to the fully digital tax refund system, which allows seamless processing of invoices electronically issued by registered retail outlets.
Al Bustani highlighted the FTA’s ambitious digital transformation plans, aligning with government directives to accelerate service delivery, reduce paper use, and minimise documentation, contributing to the Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme and positioning UAE services among the best globally.
The FTA also reported an expansion of retail stores linked to the Tax Refund for Tourists Scheme, with over 16,870 stores connected by H1 2024, an 8.07% increase from H1 2023. Additionally, self-service kiosks enabling tourists to process tax refund requests in about two minutes have increased by 20.25%, reaching 95 kiosks by H1 2024.
