United Arab Emirates Tax Agency Clarifies VAT Invoicing, Input VAT Recovery Rules for SWIFT Transactions

The Emirati Federal Tax Authority April 14 issued Public Clarification No. VATP041, clarifying the rules on VAT invoicing and input VAT recovery regarding Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) transactions. Topics covered include: 1) the requirements for issuing tax invoices related to SWIFT messages and the documentary requirements for input VAT recovery; 2) a clarification on the treatment of international bank charges incurred by UAE financial institutions using the SWIFT system with foreign banks; 3) conditions under which SWIFT messages can be accepted as sufficient records, eliminating the need for financial institutions to issue tax invoices for each SWIFT ...