VATP013

VAT Public Clarification ‫توضيح عام بشأن ضريبة القيمة المضافة‬

Disbursements & Reimbursements ‫تعويض المدفوعات والمصروفات‬

Issue ‫الموضوع‬
Article 1 of the Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 ِّ‫ ِّلسنة‬8ِّ‫)ِّمنِّالمرسومِّبقانونِّاتحاديِّرقم‬1(ِّ‫تُعرِّفِّالمادة‬
on Value Added Tax (“VAT Law”) defines ِّ‫ ِّفي ِّشأن ِّضريبة ِّالقيمة ِّالمضافة ِّ("قانون ِّضريبة‬2017
consideration as “all that is received or expected to ِّ‫القيمةِّالمضافة")ِّالمقابلِّعلىِّأنهِّ"كلِّماِّتمِّاستالمهِّأوِّمن‬
be received for the supply of goods or services, ِّ‫المتوقع ِّاستالمه ِّلقاء ِّتوريد ِّالسلع ِّأو ِّالخدمات ِّسواء ِّكان‬
whether in money or other acceptable forms of ِّ ِِّّ."‫مبالغِّنقديةِّأوِّغيرِّذلكِّمماِّيصحِّاستالمهِّكعوض‬
payment”.
In commercial transactions, a person may incur ِّ‫ِّمنِّالممكنِّانِّيتكبدِّالشخص‬،‫فيِّسياقِّالمعامالتِّالتجارية‬
expenses and subsequently recover such expenses ِّ.‫نفقاتِّثمِّيقومِّبعدِّذلكِّباستردادِّهذهِّالنفقاتِّمنِّطرفِّآخر‬
from another party. The VAT treatment of the ِّ‫وتعتمد ِّمعاملة ِّضريبة ِّالقيمة ِّالمضافة ِّلالسترداد ِّالالحق‬
subsequent recovery of expenses depends on ِّ‫للنفقات ِّعلى ِّما ِّإذا ِّكان ِّاالسترداد ِّهو ِّبمثابة ِّ"تعويض‬
whether the recovery is tantamount to a ِّ ِِِّّّ."‫مدفوعات"ِّاوِّ"تعويضِّمصروفات‬
“disbursement” or “reimbursement”.
This Public Clarification discusses the VAT ِّ‫يتناول ِّهذا ِّالتوضيح ِّالعام ِّمبادئ ِّضريبة ِّالقيمة ِّالمضافة‬
principles for differentiating between a ِّ،‫للتمييز ِّبين ِّتعويض ِّالمدفوعات ِّوتعويض ِّالمصروفات‬
disbursement and a reimbursement, and the VAT ِّ‫وكذلكِّمعاملةِّضريبةِّالقيمةِّالمضافةِّالواجبِّتطبيقهاِّعلى‬
treatment that should be applied to a ِّ ِّ.‫تعويضِّالمدفوعاتِّوتعويضِّالمصروفات‬
disbursement and reimbursement of expenses.

Summary ‫ملخص‬
The term “reimbursement” refers to the recovery ِّ‫يشيرِّمصطلحِّ"تعويضِّالمصروفات"ِّإلىِّاستردادِّالنفقات‬
of expenses that you incur as a principal. The term ِّ‫ِّيشير ِّمصطلح‬،‫ ِّمنِّجهةِّأخرى‬.‫المتكبدةِّمنِّقبلكِّكموكل‬
disbursement, on the other hand, refers to the ِّ‫"تعويضِّالمدفوعات"ِّإلىِّاستردادِّالمبالغِّالمدفوعةِّنيابةِِّّعن‬

.‫شخصِّآخر‬

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recovery of payments made on behalf of another
person.
While a disbursement of expenses is out of scope ِّ‫بالرغمِّمنِّأنِّتعويضِّالمدفوعاتِّيقعِّخارجِّنطاقِّضريبة‬
of VAT, reimbursement of expenses falls within the ِّ‫القيمة ِّالمضافة ِّإال ِّأن ِّتعويض ِّالمصروفات ِّيقع ِّضمن‬
scope of VAT. .‫نطاقها‬

Detailed discussion ‫شرح تفصيلي‬

The first step to determine whether a recovery is a ِّ‫تتمثل ِّالخطوة ِّاألولى ِّفي ِّتحديد ِّما ِّإذا ِّكان ِّاالسترداد ِّهو‬
disbursement or reimbursement is to establish ِّ‫ِّبأنِّيتمِّتحديدِّما‬،‫تعويضِّمدفوعاتِّأمِّتعويضِّمصروفات‬
whether you have acted as a principal or an agent ِّ‫إذا ِّكنت ِّقمت ِّبالتصرف ِّبصفة ِّموكل ِّأم ِّوكيل ِّعند ِّشراء‬
in purchasing the goods or services. ِّ .‫السلعِّأوِّالخدمات‬
Where you have acted as an agent, the recovery ِّ‫ِّفإنِّاالستردادِّسيكونِّعموما‬،‫فإذاِّكنتِّقدِّتصرفتِّكوكيل‬
would generally amount to a disbursement. A ِّ‫ ِّإنِّ ِّتعويض ِّالمدفوعات ِّليس‬.‫بمثابة ِّتعويض ِّمدفوعات‬
disbursement does not constitute a supply and is, ِّ‫ ِّلن ِّيكون‬،‫توريدا ِّلغايات ِّضريبة ِّالقيمة ِّالمضافة ِّوبالتالي‬
therefore, not subject to VAT. For example, a ِّ‫ ِّيكون‬،‫ ِّعلىِّسبيل ِّالمثال‬.‫خاضعاِّ ِّلضريبة ِّالقيمة ِّالمضافة‬
disbursement is a payment that your business ِّ‫تعويض ِّالمدفوعات ِّبمثابة ِّمبلغ ِّتدفعه ِّأعمالك ِّ ِّنيابة ِّعن‬
makes on behalf of a client but which you later ِّ‫ِّومنِّثمِّتقومِّبإصدارِّفاتورةِّبقيمتهِّللعميلِّومطالبته‬،‫العميل‬
invoice the client for. .‫بسدادها‬
On the other hand, where you have acted as a ِّ‫ِّفإنِّاالسترداد‬،‫ِّإذاِّكنتِّقدِّتصرفتِّكموكل‬،‫منِّجانبِّآخر‬
principal, the recovery would generally amount to ِّ‫ِّيعتبرِّالتعويض‬.‫سيكونِّعموما ِّبمثابةِّتعويضِّمصروفات‬
a reimbursement. A reimbursement is considered ِّ‫جزءاِّ ِّمن ِّمقابل ِّالتوريد ِّويخضع ِّلذات ِّالمعاملة ِّالضريبية‬
to be a part of consideration for the supply and .‫للتوريدِّالرئيسي‬
follows the same VAT treatment as the main
supply.
ِّ
Principles for Disbursement: :‫مبادئِّتعويضِّالمدفوعات‬
The following principles will help you determine ِّ‫ستساعدكِّالمبادئِّاآلتيةِّفيِّتحديدِّماِّإذاِّكانِّاستردادِّالنفقات‬
whether the recovery of an expense from another ِّ‫من ِّطرف ِّآخر ِّيستوفي ِّشروط ِّالتصنيف ِّكتعويض‬
ِّ :‫مدفوعات‬

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party satisfies the conditions for being classified as
a disbursement:
 The other party should be the recipient of the ِّ‫ِّمستلمِّالسلع‬/‫يجبِّأنِّيكونِّالطرفِّاآلخرِّهوِّمتلقي‬ •
goods or services; ِّ .‫أوِّالخدمات‬
 The other party should be responsible for ِّ .‫يجبِّأنِّيكونِّالطرفِّاآلخرِّمسؤوالِّعنِّالدفعِّللمورد‬ •
making the payment to the supplier;
 The other party should have received an ِّ‫يجبِّأنِّيكونِّالطرفِّاآلخرِّقدِّاستلمِّفاتورةِّأوِّفاتورة‬ •
invoice or tax invoice, as the case may be, in its ِّ .‫ِّصادرةِّباسمهِّمنِّالمورد‬،‫ِّبحسبِّالحال‬،‫ضريبية‬
own name from the supplier;
 The other party should have authorized you to ِّ‫يجب ِّأن ِّيكون ِّالطرف ِّاآلخر ِّقد ِّقام ِّبتفويضك ِّللقيام‬ •
make the payment on his behalf; ِّ .‫بالدفعِّنيابةِّعنه‬
 The goods or services paid for should clearly be ِّ‫يجب ِّأن ِّتكون ِّالسلع ِّأو ِّالخدمات ِّالتي ِّتم ِّدفع ِّثمنها‬ •
additional to the supplies you make to the ِّ‫إضافية ِّإلىِّالتوريداتِّالتيِّتقومِّبتقديمها ِّإلىِّالطرف‬
other party; ِّ .‫اآلخر‬
 The payment should separately be shown on ِّ‫ ِّكما‬،‫يجب ِّتحديد ِّالمبلغ ِّبشكل ِّمنفصل ِّفي ِّالفاتورة‬ •
the invoice and you should recover the exact ِّ،‫ويجبِّعليكِّاستردادِّذاتِّالمبلغِّالمدفوعِّمنِّالمورد‬
amount paid from the supplier, without a ِّ ِِّّ.‫منِّدونِّهامشِّربح‬
mark-up.
For example, Company A procured group medical ِّ‫ ِّقامت ِّالشركة ِّ(أ) ِّبشراء ِّمجموعة ِّمن‬،‫على ِّسبيل ِّالمثال‬
insurance from a local insurance company and ِّ‫التأميناتِّالطبيةِّمنِّشركةِّتأمينِّمحليةِّوتلقتِّفاتورةِّبشكل‬
received an invoice directly from the insurance ِّ)‫ِّطلبتِّالشركةِّ(أ)ِّمنِّالشركةِّ(ب‬.‫مباشرِّمنِّشركةِّالتأمين‬
company. Company A requested Company B to ِّ‫ ِّستقوم ِّالشركة‬.‫القيام ِّبالدفع ِّإلى ِّشركة ِّالتأمين ِّنيابة ِّعنها‬
make the payment on its behalf. The subsequent ِّ‫(ب) ِّالحقا ِّباستردادِّالمبلغِّالمدفوعِّمنِّالشركةِّ(أ) ِّوالذي‬
recovery of the amount by Company B from ِّ‫ِّولنِّيخضعِّلضريبةِّالقيمة‬،‫سيكونِّبمثابةِّتعويضِّمدفوعات‬
Company A will amount to a disbursement, and ِّ .‫المضافة‬
would not be subject to VAT. ِّ‫يجبِّأنِّتتلقىِّالشركةِّ(أ) ِّفاتورةِّضريبةِّموجهةِّإليهاِّمن‬
Company A should receive a Tax Invoice addressed ِّ‫ِّكماِّينبغيِّعليهاِّاستردادِّضريبةِّالمدخالت‬،‫شركةِّالتأمين‬
to it from the insurance company, and should
ِّ‫ِّمعِّمراعاة‬،‫منِّخاللِّإقرارهاِّالضريبيِّالمقدمِّفيِّالدولة‬
ِّ .‫القواعدِّالعاديةِّالستردادِّضريبةِّالمدخالت‬

3
recover the input tax through its UAE VAT return,
subject to the normal input tax recovery rules.
ِّ
Principles for reimbursement: ِّ :‫مبادئِّتعويضِِّّالمصروفات‬
The following principles will help you determine ِّ‫ستساعدكِّالمبادئِّاآلتيةِّفيِّتحديدِّماِّإذاِّكانِّاستردادِّالنفقات‬
when a recovery of expense amounts to a ِّ :‫هوِّبمثابةِّتعويضِّمصروفات‬
reimbursement:
 You should have contracted for the supply of ِّ‫يجبِّأنِّتكونِّقدِّتعاقدتِّعلىِّتوريدِّالسلعِّأوِّالخدمات‬ •
goods or services in your own name and ِّ .‫باسمكِّوبصفتكِّالشخصية‬
capacity;
 You should have received the goods or services ِّ‫يجبِّأنِّتكونِّقدِّقمتِّباستالمِّالسلعِّأوِّتلقيِّالخدمات‬ •
from the supplier; ِّ .‫منِّالمورد‬
 The supplier should have issued the invoice in ِِّّ‫يجب ِّأن ِّيكون ِّالمورد ِّقد ِّقام ِّبإصدار ِّفاتورة ِّباسمك‬ •
your name and you are under the legal ِّ .‫وثمةِّالتزامِّقانونيِّيلزمكِّبدفعها‬
obligation to make payment for it;
 In case of goods, you should own the goods ِّ‫ِّيجبِّأنِّتمتلكِّالسلعِّقبلِّالقيامِّبتوريدها‬،‫فيِّحالةِّالسلع‬ •
prior to making the onward supply to the other ِّ .‫الحقاِِّّإلىِّالطرفِّاآلخر‬
party.
For example, Company A entered into a contract ِّ‫ِّتعاقدتِّالشركةِّ(أ)ِّمعِّالشركةِّ(ب)ِّلتقديم‬،‫علىِّسبيلِّالمثال‬
with Company B to provide marketing services. The ِّ)‫ ِّوينص ِّالعقد ِّعلى ِّأن ِّتكون ِّالشركة ِّ(أ‬.‫خدمات ِّتسويق‬
contract stipulated that Company A would be ِّ)‫ِّتكبدتِّالشركةِّ(أ‬.)‫مؤهلةِّالستردادِّالنفقاتِّمنِّالشركةِّ(ب‬
eligible to reimburse the expenses from Company ِّ‫النفقات ِّباسمهاِّوقامتِّبعدِّذلكِّباستردادِّهذهِّالمصروفات‬
B. Company A incurred the expenses in its own ِّ‫ِّيجبِّأنِّيخضعِّاسترداد‬.‫منِّالشركةِّ(ب)ِّوفقاِّلشروطِّالعقد‬
name and subsequently recovered the amounts ِّ‫النفقات ِّمن ِّالشركة ِّ(ب) ِّلذات ِّالمعاملة ِّالضريبية ِّللتوريد‬
from Company B as per the terms of the contract. ِّ .‫الرئيسي‬
The recovery of expenses from Company B would
follow the same VAT treatment as that of the main
supply.

4
The principles stated above should be used as ِّ‫يجبِّاستخدامِّالمبادئِّالمذكورةِّأعالهِّكمؤشراتِّلتحليلِّما‬
indicators to analyze whether a recovery of ِّ‫إذاِّكانِّاستردادِّالنفقاتِّهوِّبمثابةِّتعويضِّمصروفات ِّأو‬
expense amounts to a reimbursement or ِّ‫ِّالنظر‬،‫ِّمعِّذلك‬،‫ِّيجبِّعلىِّدافعِّالضريبة‬.‫تعويضِّمدفوعات‬
disbursement. The taxpayer, should, however ِّ‫فيِّجميعِّالحقائقِّوالظروفِّالمتعلقةِّبالمعاملةِّبنظرةِّشاملة‬
consider all the facts and circumstances of the .‫للتوصلِّإلىِّقرار‬
transaction holistically to arrive at a decision.
This Public Clarification issued by the FTA is meant to clarify ِّ‫يهدفِّهذا ِّ التوضيحِّالعامِّالصادرِّعنِِّّالهيئةِّاالتحاديةِّللضرائبِّإلى‬
certain aspects related to the implementation of the Federal ِّ‫)ِّلسنة‬7(ِّ‫توضيحِّبعضِّالمواضيعِّالمتعلقةِّبتطبيقِّالقانونِّاالتحاديِّرقم‬
Law No 7 of 2017 on Tax Procedures, Federal Decree-Law No 8 ِّ‫ ِّفي ِّشأنِّاإلجراءاتِّ ِّالضريبيةِّوالمرسومِّبقانون ِّاتحادي ِّرقم‬2017
of 2017 on Value Added Tax and their Executive Regulations.
ِّ .‫ِّفيِّشأنِّضريبةِّالقيمةِّالمضافةِّولوائحهماِّالتنفيذية‬2017ِّ‫)ِّلسنة‬8(
This Public Clarification states the position of the FTA and ِّ‫هذاِّالتوضيح ِّالعام ِّيتضمنِّموقفِّالهيئةِّاالتحاديةِّللضرائبِّوالِّيُعدل‬
neither amends nor seeks to amend any provision of the ِّ .‫والِّيهدفِّإلىِّتعديلِّأيِّمنِّأحكامِّالتشريعاتِّالمذكورة‬
aforementioned legislation. Therefore, it is effective as of the ِّ‫ ِّفإن ِّهذا ِّالتوضيح ِّالعام ِّساري ِّاعتبارا ِّمن ِّتاريخ ِّتطبيق‬،‫ولذلك‬
date of implementation of the relevant legislation, unless ِّ .‫ِّماِّلمِّيتمِّتحديدِّخالفِّذلكِّفيِّالنص‬،‫التشريعاتِّالضريبيةِّالمذكورة‬
stated otherwise.