UAE Eases Tax Rules, Reduces Penalties

The UAE Cabinet has amended the Executive Regulation of Federal Law on Tax Procedures, extending the tax notification from 10 to 40 working days.

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It also covers the time limit for issuing the decision of the Federal Tax Authority to reduce or exempt administrative penalties from 20 to 40 working days from the date of receiving the application.

UAE Eases Tax Rules, Reduces Penalties

Cabinet Amends Federal Laws on Tax, Reduces Penalties

The announcement was made at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. April 14, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, it approved several strategies, the Khaleej Times reported.

The cabinet approved the issuance of a decision regarding the requirements of the Natural Person Insolvency Law. The law aims at enhancing the competitiveness of the UAE by ensuring the ease of doing business and creating favourable conditions for individuals facing financial difficulties.

In 2019, The UAE Cabinet approved the Federal Decree-Law No. 19 of 2019 on insolvency, which was effective from January 2020. While the law offers relief to a person who is unable to pay their debts, the process to apply for insolvency is quite detailed for the court to determine whether a person is truly insolvent.

In line with this, Articles 3 to 27 of the law lay out a detailed and clear process that needs to be followed by the debtor for the settlement of the financial dues.

According to one legal expert from Danube Group Jihene Arfaoui: “As per the procedure for settlement of all debts, the debtor goes to court and opens a case, not against anyone specifically, but instead as a request to the court to help him settle his debt. He should submit all the documents listed and pay the professional fees. The court will then issue a decision, appointing an expert to start the procedures.”

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