UAE FZ: VAT on invoice from Free Zone to European Countries

[0ecomoff]

If someone has a free zone establishment F.Z.E. from UAE as a freelancer and invoices customers from Europe, does he need to register for a VAT number in the invoiced countries, put the VAT % (e.g. Spain 25%, Finland 24% etc.) into the invoice and pay the invoiced countries financial tax office the VAT?

I can hardly imagine that is feasible, but I really don't know. What can someone do to make it more easy - like stating in the invoice that the customer has to pay the VAT to the country he resides in?

 

[Vor]

If someone has a free zone establishment F.Z.E. from UAE as a freelancer and invoices customers from Europe, does he need to register for a VAT number in the invoiced countries, put the VAT % (e.g. Spain 25%, Finland 24% etc.) into the invoice and pay the invoiced countries financial tax office the VAT?

I can hardly imagine that is feasible, but I really don't know. What can someone do to make it more easy - like stating in the invoice that the customer has to pay the VAT to the country he resides in?

Are you selling millions in the EU countries or thousands? Cuz if its thousands I wouldn't even worry about it if your in UAE.

 

[0ecomoff]

Are you selling millions in the EU countries or thousands? Cuz if its thousands I wouldn't even worry about it if your in UAE.

someone is selling hundreds-thousands/per month. But what would be the right move? Does the VAT from the customers county really has to be on the invoice?

 

[Vor]

someone is selling hundreds-thousands/per month. But what would be the right move? Does the VAT from the customers county really has to be on the invoice?

hundreds to thousands/per month? or hundreds of thousands/per month? I wouldn't even worry about it if its hundreds to thousands of dollars. I couldn't answer you the prim proper way since i am not doing UAE to EU. I run a business that is ran from the EU selling to the USA only so I do not have to charge VAT. When living in the US and running my business from the US I did have a few EU customers and never invoiced them VAT and nothing at all happened. Tax office has bigger prosperities than what most people are.. which is relatively small players.

 

[Paul77]

Guys it works this way. I ship from Hong Kong to EU, so it is the same like Dubai Freezone as HK does not have any tax and is a tax free port. When sending to any EU country, you don´t invoice the VAT. You put 0% VAT in the invoice and the importer (your buyer in Europe) pays VAT and duties if required directly to the shipping company. This is counted from the total value invoiced in the commercial invoice you have to privide with the package/order you are sending. However lately there were some changes in the EU as always and it´s just a mess of stupid, complicated regulations and BS!

 

[Zikki]

If someone has a free zone establishment F.Z.E. from UAE as a freelancer and invoices customers from Europe, does he need to register for a VAT number in the invoiced countries, put the VAT % (e.g. Spain 25%, Finland 24% etc.) into the invoice and pay the invoiced countries financial tax office the VAT?

I can hardly imagine that is feasible, but I really don't know. What can someone do to make it more easy - like stating in the invoice that the customer has to pay the VAT to the country he resides in?

Interested by the answer as I'm in the same situation.

 

[Zikki]

Found the answer in another post on the forum.

You have to split two aspects of the situation. One is : do you need to register for vat? Answer is simple --> Yes as soon as you do more than 345k a year. Once you hit that limit you have 30 days to register.

The other one is do I have to vat everything afterward ---> not at all especially exported goods and services.

During registration, the government will ask what kind of clients you have and you will be able to check at some point that, as all customers are ouside GCC, you would like to be exempted from the quarterly declaration.

If they say yes, hoorah... nothing to do anymore. If they say no, you will have to create a declaration quarterly with a taxable amount of 0 (all you your income will go in the zero tax trade field)
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