The direct answer: identify the breach before calculating a penalty
Cabinet Decision 129 of 2025 amended the VAT, excise and tax-procedure penalty framework from 14 April 2026. Filing, payment, registration and disclosure failures are different matters: submitting a return does not prove its balance was paid. The applicable rule and dates must be checked for your particular notice, especially where a case spans the changeover.
Selected penalties under the amended schedule
These are selected rules, not a complete penalty calculator. The payment rate is not 14% each month. Tax remains payable separately. Do not apply this table indiscriminately to corporate-tax filing penalties.
| Issue | Published penalty basis |
|---|---|
| Late VAT registration | AED 10,000 |
| Late VAT return | AED 1,000 initially; AED 2,000 for repetition within 24 months |
| Late payment | 14% per annum, applied monthly for each month or part on unpaid tax |
| Late deregistration application | AED 1,000 initially and monthly on the corresponding date, capped at AED 10,000 |
Correcting a return is not always a penalty-free action
The amended schedule distinguishes incorrect returns, voluntary disclosures and errors not disclosed before audit notification. A voluntary disclosure can itself carry a monthly 1% charge on the tax difference; specified post-notification cases add a fixed 15% charge. Whether an error belongs in a later return or a disclosure requires checking the correction rules and facts, not simply editing the ledger.
- Preserve the submitted return and its underlying reconciliation.
- Identify the affected period, tax amount and discovery date.
- Record whether an audit notification has arrived.
- Agree the permitted correction route before submitting another document.
A practical control sheet for each return
Use one shared checklist with an owner and a second reviewer. Keep three separate completion fields: figures approved, return submitted and payment matched. A green mark beside only the first field should never be treated as the whole job being complete.
| Checkpoint | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| Source records reconciled | Ledger, sales, purchases and import reconciliation for the assigned period |
| Return approved | Dated approval of the final figures, not an earlier spreadsheet |
| Submission complete | EmaraTax acknowledgement and a copy of the actual submitted return |
| Payment matched | Payment reference and evidence that it reached the correct tax account |
| Exceptions closed | A dated list of unresolved differences with a responsible person |
If you receive an FTA decision
Save the full notice and when it was notified to you. The normal reconsideration period is 40 business days; confirm the start date and applicable process promptly. Prepare the reasons, legal basis and supporting evidence required by the FTA. Reconsideration, a waiver request and an objection at a later dispute stage are not interchangeable, and acceptance is not guaranteed.
- Build a timeline from the original obligation through submissions and payments.
- Keep portal acknowledgements, correspondence and relevant advice.
- Separate a disagreement with the decision from an inability to pay.
- Have any required Arabic submission or specialist representation handled through the appropriate authorised route.
How Meraki can help organise the work
Meraki can review the records, prepare reconciliations and coordinate the agreed VAT or dispute-support scope. Formal representation and specialist legal work are separately confirmed where needed. Do not upload identity documents or tax-account credentials through the public enquiry form.
VAT support and fees Tax dispute support VAT registration and returns
