Amendments to the excise tax legislation in Qatar

The State of Qatar has introduced amendments to its Excise Tax legislation through two Cabinet Resolutions, Cabinet Resolution No. 30 of 2026 and Cabinet Resolution No. 31 of 2026 amending the Executive Regulations (‘Regulations’) of Law No. 25 of 2018 (‘Law’) and details on the schedules of subcategory names of excise goods. 

Key Takeaways of Cabinet Resolution No. 30 and 31 of 2026

A -   Tax Base & Product Classification

• For tobacco, energy drinks, and goods of a special nature, the taxable value is the higher of the General Tax Authority's (‘GTA’) standard price list or the retail sale price declared by the importer or manufacturer, net of tax.
• For sweetened beverages, excise tax is levied on a fixed / specific-value basis calculated according to the volume or quantity of total sugar (natural and added) and other sweeteners in the product.  

B -   Registration

• Taxable persons must apply to the GTA to register excise goods before commencing import or local production operations. 
• The GTA may now unilaterally cancel a taxpayer's registration where excise tax-related activities have ceased for six months or more, unless the taxpayer can demonstrate continuation of their business activity. 

C -   Tax Returns & Filing

• The excise tax return form has been extended to include sugar content (natural and added) and sweetener content, both expressed in grams per 100 ml where applicable. 
• A financial penalty applies where the GTA amends a return after 30 days from the submission deadline and the additional tax exceeds 10% of the total tax post-amendment. Taxpayers may not amend a return to reduce tax once an assessment has been issued, and in all cases, a return cannot be amended to reduce tax after five years from the end of the year in which it was submitted.

D -   Deductions & Refunds

• Producers may now deduct, within the tax return, excise tax paid on input goods used to produce other taxable excise goods. Similarly, persons liable for tax may deduct excise tax paid on exported or re-exported goods, provided relevant documentary evidence is attached to the applicable return. 
• The window for submitting refund claims has been significantly extended from 30 days to 5 years from the end of the tax period in which the refund event occurred. Five categories of eligible refund claimants have been established along with the list of conditions to be met, and any outstanding taxes or financial penalties will be offset against the refundable amount at the time of disbursement. 

E -   Audit & Enforcement

• A formalized audit procedure now requires the GTA to issue written notification at least 15 days before audit commencement, specifying the start date and tax periods under review. Taxpayers and their agents have 20 days from notification to submit required information, documents, and records. 
• The prior one-day notification requirement has been removed. Authorized GTA employees with judicial seizure status may enter business premises and tax warehouses without prior notice during business hours, conduct on-site inspections, examine and copy records and accounts, and gather information about other liable persons. The right to obtain copies of seized books and records has also been added.

F -   Tax Warehouses

• Two categories of licensed tax warehouse are now recognized: Private Warehouse (licensed to the person liable for tax for their own goods) and a Public Warehouse (a customs warehouse holding excise goods on behalf of third parties). 

G -  Compliance & Record-Keeping

• The mandatory record retention period has been doubled from five years to ten years, measured from the end of the year to which the records relate.  

H -   Penalties & Installment Arrangements

• The GTA's decision period on installment payment requests has been extended from 10 to 60 days. 
• Financial penalties are included within assessment decisions where applicable; in all other cases, penalties are imposed by separate decision with notification to the taxpayer. Any part of a month is treated as a full month for the purpose of calculating monthly penalties. 

Recommended Next Steps for Businesses

In light of these developments, businesses with excise tax obligations in Qatar are encouraged to take the following immediate actions:

New Tax Base for Sweetened Beverages: The most structurally significant change is the introduction of a specific/fixed-value levy on sweetened beverages calculated on total sugar and sweetener content per 100 ml of the final diluted product. 

Expanded and Formalized Audit Framework: The bifurcation of the prior Article 30 into three distinct articles (examination of tax returns, audit procedures, and tax assessment decision) provides for a formal audit process. 

Comprehensive Definitions Framework: Definitions provided for energy drinks and sweetened beverages, including eight categories of exclusions from the sweetened beverage definition. This provides substantially greater legal certainty for the food and beverage industry.

Refund and Deduction Reforms: The extension of the refund limitation period from 30 days to 5 years, combined with the new in-return deduction mechanism for production-use inputs and exports, significantly improves cash-flow management for producers and exporters and addresses a major practical limitation of the prior regime.

How Deloitte can help

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how these developments impact your business and how we can support you to be ready to implement any changes to your business and processes where needed.