UAE Announces New Sugar-Based Excise Tax Rates for Sweetened Drinks Effective January 2026

• The UAE FTA announced new excise tax rates for sweetened drinks, effective January 1, 2026, based on sugar content.
• Tax rates range from 0 AED/Litre for drinks with only artificial sweeteners or less than 5g sugar/100ml, to 1.09 AED/Litre for drinks with 8g sugar/100ml or more.
• Beverages must obtain a UAE Certificate of Conformity and lab reports from accredited facilities; those without approved reports will be classified as high-sugar.
• The energy drinks category remains at a 100% excise tax, and the separate carbonated drinks category is removed.
• Transitional rules and re-registration requirements apply; businesses should prepare for new compliance measures.

Source: mailchi.mp

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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