GCC Indirect Tax Weekly Digest

Oman developments

VAT implemented on 16 April 2021

Value Added Tax (VAT) has now gone live in Oman with effect from 16 April 2021. The provisions of the Oman VAT legislation have now come into effect, and businesses with a required registration date of 16 April 2021 must now be able to charge VAT where applicable, issue tax invoices, and meet all other VAT compliance obligations. 

Businesses with lower annual supplies will be required to meet their obligations by the applicable registration date, as per the following:

OTA publishes additional VAT guidance/clarifications

The Oman Tax Authority (OTA) has published additional VAT guidance/clarifications, as follows:

• Approval to issue simplified tax invoices – the OTA has allowed VAT registrants to issue simplified VAT invoices from 16 April 2021, subject to certain conditions.
• Guide on registration by non-resident person – this guide sets out the procedure for registration by a non-resident by appointing a resident Responsible Person, a Tax Representative, or by appointing a non-resident person as a Responsible Person.

• OTA to continue accepting registration – the OTA has clarified that while the second phase of VAT registration has started (i.e. for businesses with taxable supplies between OMR 500k and OMR 1 million), the OTA continues to accept registration applications from businesses with taxable supplies over OMR 1 million which were required to register in the first phase.

Deloitte will shortly publish a more detailed alert on the new guidance/clarifications.

Bahrain developments

NBR publishes guide on VAT agents / VAT representatives

The Bahrain National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) has published a guide on VAT agents / VAT representatives.

The guide is intended to clarify the rules relating to VAT agents, who are persons authorized by the NBR to act on behalf of a VAT payer in their name to assist them with meeting their compliance obligations, and the rules relating to VAT representatives, who may be appointed by non-residents to essentially replace the VAT payer in terms of their obligations to the NBR.

The guide outlines the process and requirements for obtaining authorization to act as a VAT agent / VAT representative, and to be appointed by a VAT payer to take on the role. Those seeking to either act as a VAT agent or representative, or to appoint such persons to act on behalf of their business, should familiarize themselves with the guide.

This digest is for information purposes only and should not be construed as advice. It does not necessarily cover every aspect of the topics with which it deals. You should not act upon the contents of this alert without receiving formal advice on your particular circumstances.