Tax and accounting for Dubai trading companies.

Common tax challenges

Trading businesses run on volume and margin, and both are distorted by how imports and inventory are recorded. Most of the problems we see are posting problems rather than tax problems, but they surface as tax problems.

• Reverse charge on imports. Imported goods and services bring the reverse charge, which appears on both sides of the VAT return. Businesses either miss it entirely or record only one side.
• Customs documentation. Import VAT claims must reconcile to customs declarations. Where they do not, the claim is at risk.
• Designated Zones. Movements in and out of a Designated Zone have specific VAT treatment for goods. This is frequently confused with free zone Corporate Tax status, which is an entirely separate question.
• Freight and duty in the wrong place. Freight inward, duty and clearing charges belong in cost of sales. Posted as overheads, they inflate reported gross margin and drive bad pricing decisions.
• Inventory valuation. Stock is the largest balance sheet item and the one auditors examine hardest. Obsolete stock carried at cost overstates both profit and taxable income.
• Multi-currency. Exchange differences have to be recorded consistently, and gains and losses treated correctly in the tax computation.

What we provide

• Import and reverse charge handling, reconciled to customs documentation
• Cost of sales structured properly, with landed cost visible
• Inventory reconciliation and valuation review
• Multi-currency bookkeeping with consistent revaluation
• Supplier and customer ledger management with ageing
• VAT return preparation and filing
• Corporate Tax computation, including free zone review where relevant

Typical documents

• Purchase invoices and supplier statements
• Customs declarations and import documentation
• Freight, duty and clearing invoices
• Sales invoices and credit notes
• Inventory counts and valuation basis
• Bank statements in every currency held

Our process

The first pass is always landed cost: making sure everything that belongs in the cost of goods is there. From that point margin becomes real, VAT reconciles, and audit preparation stops being a scramble. See also monthly bookkeeping.

Getting started

Tell us your licence type and what is outstanding, and we will confirm which returns apply and what the deadlines are before any work begins. Send us your details, or check your position with the tax status tool.