New VAT for Saudi Arabia & UAE

Jan 25, 2018

Although the Gulf has long been associated with being a tax-free haven, Saudi Arabia and the UAE announced that due to a collapse in oil prices around 3 years ago, VAT would be introduced in 2018 on most goods and services to boost revenue.

VAT now applies to a range of items like food, clothes, electronics and gasoline, as well as phones, water, electricity bills and hotel reservations. Other gulf countries are expected to implement their own VAT scheme in the coming years, but currently this is the widest ranging tax to be rolled out in the two countries.

How will this affect the eCommerce industry? We have broken it down into Duty and Tax bands:

eCommerce items now shipped into Saudi Arabia are subject to:

  • 5% VAT on all shipments
  • Shipments over 1000 SAR (£186.54 as of 25th Jan 2018) are also subject to 5% Duty and consumer ID must be submitted

Items shipped into the UAE are subject to:

  • 5% VAT on all shipments
  • Shipments over 1000 AED (£190.45 as of 25th Jan 2018) are also subject to 5% Duty

But don’t worry, we have done the hard work for you! Our wnDuty service is up to date with the most current Customs processes and can collect Duty and Taxes, as well as ID capture, before the shipments even leave the UK!



Recent Posts