The General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) held a meeting with accounting offices in Saudi Arabia as part of its plans and programs to support taxpayers’ compliance with VAT requirements ahead of VAT implementation expected on January 1, 2018.
GAZT urged all eligible businesses with annual revenue of more than SAR 1 million to register for VAT before December 20, 2017, in order to avoid fines and suspension of government utility services.
GAZT also emphasized that registration allows taxpayers to get a refund for VAT input taxes and regulate their financial transactions through the issuance of VAT-compliant invoices, which will help them calculate input (purchases) and output (sale) taxes.
The meeting, opened by GAZT Governor His Excellency Suhail Abanmi, was attended by experts and specialists from accounting service providers in the Kingdom. It is a part of the GAZT’s awareness campaign on VAT implementation.
"Accounting firms play a vital role in supporting taxpayers’ preparation for VAT by helping them adjust their accounting systems to VAT requirements,” Abanmi said.
Therefore, we expect accounting offices to ensure taxpayers’ readiness and completion of all VAT requirements and expect taxpayers to show full cooperation in this regard and register for VAT before the deadline, he added.
GAZT called on all eligible businesses with annual revenues exceeding SAR 1 million to register for VAT before December 20, 2017, via the dedicated website VAT.GOV.SA. Smaller businesses with annual revenues between SAR 375,000 and SAR 1,000,000 were given extended deadline until December 20, 2018, to complete the registration process.
