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United Arab Emirates

UAE FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026: Input VAT Supplier Verification Rules

1 week ago
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  • From 1 October 2026, UAE taxable persons must perform specified checks before deducting input VAT.
  • The requirements cover supplier identity, business premises, risk indicators, commercial circumstances and the integrity of the underlying supply.
  • Procurement, vendor-onboarding and accounts-payable controls should retain evidence that the required checks were completed.
Input VAT Recovery Moves Beyond Invoice Validation
The UAE Federal Tax Authority published Decision No. 13 of 2026, setting out the measures, procedures and conditions that taxable persons must follow to verify supplies before deducting input tax. The Decision supports Article 54 bis of the UAE VAT Law and takes effect on 1 October 2026. [tax.gov.ae], [pwc.com]
Supplier verification is required when a business deals with a supplier for the first time or where the supplier has not been verified during the preceding 12 months. For legal entities, the checks include verifying incorporation, the identity of the person representing the supplier and the existence of an actual place of business consistent with the supplier’s activities. Businesses must also consider risk indicators, including repeated changes of address or key personnel and transactions that appear inconsistent with the supplier’s size or history. [pwc.com]
The reform is particularly important because possession of a formally valid VAT invoice should no longer be treated as the only control supporting input VAT recovery. The taxpayer must be able to demonstrate that the supplier and supply were reviewed in accordance with the Decision.
Control and Documentation Priorities
Businesses should incorporate the requirements into supplier onboarding, periodic vendor reviews, purchase-order approval and invoice-release controls. Evidence should be retained within the vendor master or a linked compliance repository so that the review can be reproduced during an FTA audit.
Tax and finance teams should also define escalation procedures for unusual pricing, payment to third parties, inconsistent licensing, unexplained changes in supplier information and transactions that are not commercially consistent with the supplier’s known activities.
External resources
Related VATupdate.com article
France Finalizes the Regulatory Framework for September 2026 E-Invoicing
  • Decree No. 2026-677 and the Order of 27 July 2026 completed France’s secondary e-invoicing legislation.
  • The texts confirm the central role of accredited platforms, platform-portability rules and the final technical framework.
  • The reform’s first operational date remained 1 September 2026.
Final Rules Published Before Go-Live
France published Decree No. 2026-677 and an accompanying Order in the Official Journal on 28 July 2026. The instruments entered into force on 29 July 2026 and implement the relevant provisions of the 2026 Finance Law concerning electronic invoicing and transaction reporting. [legifrance.gouv.fr], [vatupdate.com]
The framework confirms that accredited platforms are responsible for exchanging domestic B2B electronic invoices and transmitting required tax, transaction, payment and lifecycle data. The public infrastructure performs directory and tax-data functions rather than operating as a general free invoice-exchange platform. [taxnews.ey.com]
The rules also address platform accreditation, annual surveillance audits, continuity of service and portability when a taxpayer changes provider. The Order anchors the permitted invoice formats and exchange processes in the relevant AFNOR standards, including Factur-X, UBL and CII implementations. [vatupdate.com], [taxnews.ey.com]
Immediate Operational Consequences
Businesses should ensure that French entities can receive compliant invoices, that invoice-routing information is correctly registered and that the selected accredited platform is integrated with accounts payable, accounts receivable and ERP systems.
Particular attention should be given to SIREN and SIRET data, customer routing identifiers, VAT determination, invoice status messages, e-reporting for transactions outside domestic B2B e-invoicing and the treatment of payment information for services.
The final rules did not postpone the implementation calendar. Publication shortly before the first go-live date therefore increased the importance of controlled fallback procedures, error monitoring and documented evidence of implementation efforts.
External resources

Other articles

  • UAE FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026 makes supplier and supply verification mandatory before claiming input VAT, effective 1 October 2026, to help prevent VAT recovery linked to tax evasion.
  • Businesses must verify supplier identity, physical business presence, and repeat the verification at least every 12 months.
  • For suppliers with transactions above AED 375,000 in a rolling 12-month period, enhanced due diligence is required, including bank confirmation and reputational screening.
  • Verification is not required for individual supplies under AED 10,000 (excluding VAT) if total supplies from that supplier stay under AED 100,000 in 12 months.
  • Companies must assess commercial rationale and payment trail, prefer electronic payments, justify cash payments, and keep a formal policy and evidence for audit purposes.

Source: alvarezandmarsal.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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