Federal Tax Authority Service Guide

VAT Refund for Foreign Business Visitors

2025

Service Card Template
English
Service Code	396-03-002-000
Main Service	Refunds
Service Name	VAT Refund for Foreign Business Visitors
Categories of Customers	All eligible foreign businesses visiting the UAE.
Service Type	Transactional
Service Classification	Government to Business Services.
Service Category	Variation Service
Service Description	Through this service, the FTA refunds VAT incurred on expenses in the UAE to qualifying foreign businesses via the Business Visitor Refund Scheme.
Channels and Working Hours for Providing the Service	EmaraTax platform: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, during the annual 6 months submission period which is from 1 March to 31 August.
Time Required to Submit Application	15 minutes
Time Required to Complete Application by the FTA	4 months from the date of submission. With the commitment to provide all the required supporting documents and information.
Obligation to Sign-up	Applicable
Required Documents and Forms	Original Tax Compliance Certificate (such as business status certificate, certificate of commercial activities or equivalent) in Arabic or English issued by the relevant competent Tax Administration reflecting the applicant's Tax Registration Number (TRN) attested by the UAE Embassy in the country of tax registration. The relevant tax invoices with valid TRN. Proof of payment (receipt or stamp of invoice as "paid" with the supplier's details on the stamp). Proof of authorization for the authorized signatory. Passport of the authorized signatory. A declaration in Arabic or English indicating the level (percentage) of input tax the applicant is eligible to recover on expenses in case the foreign business is undertaking exempt or non-business activities in the country of establishment, which do not give the right to fully recover any input tax.
Procedures and Steps	Sign-up for an EmaraTax account through the FTA's website and activate it. Access the EmaraTax account dashboard. Click on 'SPECIAL REFUNDS'. Click on 'Business Visitor Refunds'. Fill in the refund form, and submit the refund request.
FAQs	Can I submit a refund request for multiple years in a single application? A refund request shall be submitted only for a calendar year. May I be exempted from attesting the Original Tax Compliance Certificate (such as business status certificate, certificate of commercial activities or equivalent) from the UAE Embassy in the country of tax registration? Attesting the Original Tax Compliance Certificate (such as business status certificate, certificate of commercial activities or equivalent) from the UAE Embassy is a basic required document supporting the refund request. Is it mandatory to submit all the required documents as original hard copies to the FTA or is it allowed to send scanned copies? The Tax Compliance Certificate (such as business status certificate, certificate of commercial activities or equivalent) attested from the UAE Embassy is required to be submitted as an original document; other required documents such as tax invoices, proof of payments, may be submitted as scanned or system generated documents and attached with your claim on EmaraTax platform. How can a VAT refund be submitted if the country of establishment is not in the list of eligible countries? If the country of establishment is not on the approved list, the applicant should contact the Ministry of Finance of the country of establishment which will contact the UAE's Ministry of Finance in this regard.
Fees	Free
Relevant Publications	Refund for Business Visitors Guide - VATGRB1
Terms and Conditions	The applicant should not have a place of establishment or fixed establishment in the UAE or any implementing state The applicant should not be a taxable person in the UAE The applicant should be conducting business and is registered as an establishment with a competent authority in the country of establishment The applicant should be established in a country that provides refunds of VAT to entities that belong to the UAE in similar circumstances The period of each refund claim is 12 calendar months except where the applicant is resident in a GCC state that is not an implementing state The minimum amount of VAT to be requested for refund is AED 2,000 Invalid tax invoices will be rejected (e.g. having an incorrect TRN)