The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SCCI, in cooperation with the Federal Tax Authority, has organised an awareness workshop on new developments in the tax system in the UAE, mechanisms for applying value-added tax, VAT, procedures for registering at the Federal Tax Authority, and the entailed commitments, auditing and paperwork for importers and exporters.

The workshop, which was hosted on the SCCI premises on Wednesday under the theme "VAT for Importers and Exporters and Registration Mechanism," saw wide participation by representatives of the business community as well as retail, import, and export companies operating in Sharjah.

The session was attended by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the SCCI, Walid Bukhatir, SCCI Second Vice-Chairman, and Mohammed Ahmed Amin, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Business Sector at SCCI, Saida Kaddoumi-Osman representing the Federal Tax Authority, in addition to representatives of a number of government agencies and heads of work groups operating under the SCCI's umbrella.

The SCCI stressed the importance of close cooperation between government institutions and agencies, the active partnership between the public and private sectors in organising economic life and ensuring the prosperity of its commercial, industrial and professional sectors at all levels, and keeping pace with the civilisation development witnessed by the UAE and Sharjah.

The SCCI added that organising this seminar is motivated by its commitment to informing the business community in Sharjah about the tax laws issued by the government in March 2017, and to help raise awareness among members about new developments in the state's tax system including the mechanisms for applying VAT, procedures related to it, and the entailed commitments.

The representatives of the Chamber also mentioned, that the workshop provided valuable information and answered the questions of several company owners about new legislations regulating tax procedures for the business community, which should enable companies in various economic sectors to put their affairs in order and take the necessary steps to improve their performance during the upcoming stage before the deadline for applying VAT in early 2018.

Kaddoumi-Osman said the workshop achieved its goals and managed to inform a large number of private sector establishments in Sharjah about the goals of applying indirect taxes in the UAE and their role in supporting economic diversity by diversifying the sources of government revenues in order to fund infrastructure projects and improve the quality of services provided by the government.

The workshop focused on informing retail, import, and export companies about the concept of VAT in the UAE and the necessary procedures for preparing to apply the tax from 1st January, 2018, in addition to the requirements of compliance, which include, as a first step, the registration mechanism at the Federal Tax Authority for tax purposes.