Companies in the UAE that record annual revenues of over AED3.75mn will be obliged to register under a value added tax (VAT) system, and will be accordingly taxed. This was stated by Younis Al Khoury, undersecretary at the country’s Ministry of Finance. Companies whose revenue is in the range of AED1.87mn to AED3.75mn will have an option to either register under the system or not under the first phase of rolling out of the system. UAE’s Al Khoury had earlier confirmed that GCC countries are yet to finalise their implementation policy, but they have agreed that the tax will not be applied on certain industries like education and healthcare. Staple food items would also be exempt from VAT. Oman’s Minister of Financial Affairs, Darwish Al Beloushi, had told reporters earlier this year that GCC countries have agreed to introduce VAT at 5% in 2018. (Gulf News)