No one is still aware of what impacts VAT is going to have on UAE residents financially, but it definitely started on a good note by providing job opportunities to individuals like Tax agents and Tax Accounting Software vendors. Recently the official registration for both the roles has been opened by Federal Tax Authority(FTA). FTA has released the guidelines the tax agent and the software vendors need to follow.
Tax Agents
A tax agent is basically a mediator who acts between the tax authority and taxpayers. A tax agent is meant to file the accounts of the taxpayer or an organization and represent himself in front of the authority instead of the taxpayer. A tax agent will have complete knowledge of accounting and the current tax system standards.
Read: VAT latest updates – What will be taxed in UAE?
What is the use of a tax agent?
Most of us might think of filing our accounts without taking any help from the particular representative. But the work done by the tax agents will be of top quality as they are trained for this work, there won’t be any miscalculations and can guide us in the right direction.
The UAE government has started providing this opportunity to the respective individuals. This will definitely make most of the SME/Large scale organizations to set up a department for accounting and hire individuals for the accounting services.
Qualification and conditions for a tax agent
The basic qualification for a tax professional is Bachelors or Masters degree in tax, law or accounting from a well-acclaimed organization. Tax certification in any globally recognized tax institution is also acceptable with basic degree in any other field. The aspirant must have a minimum experience of 3 years in the relevant field with good communication skills in Arabic and English as well.
FTA conducts an entrance test for the applicants to choose the best among them. The candidate should meet the eligibility criteria mentioned below in order to take the entrance exam.
- Bachelors/Masters degree in tax/accounting/law
- Bachelors/Masters degree in any other field with tax certification
- Verbal and written communication skills in Arabic and English.
- Minimum 3 years of work experience in the relevant field
Conditions
Other than meeting the eligibility criteria there are 4 mandatory conditions the applicant should meet
- He/She should be medically fit to perform the given tasks.
- He/She should not have any criminal record.
- He/She should hold a genuine degree from a well-recognized institute
- He/She should have a professional liability insurance
Also Read: VAT affects on education sector in Dubai
Registration for tax agent
An applicant can fill the application form provided by the FTA and submit the educational details as requested. If the candidate meets the eligibility criteria FTA will conduct an entrance exam and filter the best ones and arrange a personal interview. Applications can be rejected under two conditions, one is if the candidate doesn’t meet the eligibility requirements or his application might affect the integrity of the tax system. Interested candidates can contact FTA department or visit www.tax.gov.ae/ar/index.aspx for more information.
Responsibilities of a tax agent
After clearing the exam conducted by the FTA, a tax agent will be appointed on payment of AED 3000 as registration fees and will be provided with an official license approved by the authorities. The tax agents license will be valid for three years.
- A tax agent will be assisting a taxpayer by filing his accounts for tax payments.
- A Tax agent is supposed to keep the taxpayers data confidentially by not revealing it to anyone other than the FTA on an official request.
- A tax agent is not supposed to decline any work related to the filing accounts.
Tax Accounting Software Vendors
Tax accounting software is an important software that helps the taxpayers in noting down and providing the required accounting details for tax reporting. There are few requirements for the software, where the vendors have to keep a note of it as this contains private and confidential financial information. Check www.tax.gov.ae/requirement-tax-accounting.aspx for the requirements of the software. If you meet the requirements then fill the application and send it to info_tas@tax.gov.ae and follow the instructions given by the FTA.
About the author
Nikitha is a Senior Analyst at MyMoneySouq.com. She has been writing about personal finance, credit cards, mortgage, and other personal finance products in the UAE. Her work on Mortgage loans has been featured by the GulfNews and other popular Financial Blogs in the UAE.
