Selective Tax Applied on Over 1,600 Items in UAE

Khaled Al Bustani., director-general of the Federal Tax Authority. WAM
Khaled Al Bustani., director-general of the Federal Tax Authority. WAM
TT
20

Selective Tax Applied on Over 1,600 Items in UAE

Khaled Al Bustani., director-general of the Federal Tax Authority. WAM
Khaled Al Bustani., director-general of the Federal Tax Authority. WAM

The number of commodities covered by the UAE's selective taxation has been announced as 1,610 items, 60 percent of which are classified as soft drink products, 26 percent as tobacco and its derivatives, and some 14 percent as energy drinks, all deemed as the most damaging to the public's health, the UAE announced Sunday.

The Federal Tax Authority has prepared a list of taxable commodities to assist in the collection process by the authorized parties, the manufacturing companies or importing companies.

The number of items on the list is subject to increase in the future if new brands of tobacco products, soft drinks or energy drinks are introduced to the market, and the selective tax rate varies between 50 and 100 percent.

The number of commodities classified as soft drinks, according to the list prepared by the Federal Tax Authority, is 974 while those classified as tobacco products and its derivatives reached 417, and the number of energy drinks was set at 219 items.

The Federal Tax Authority announced earlier this week that selective tax collections will only be accepted in e-Dirhams, a decision that will boost the government's efforts to adopt an electronic system, keeping the UAE up to date with the latest technologies and providing a high-level of security and efficiency in electronic payments.

The UAE is the second Gulf country after Saudi Arabia to apply selective taxes, which is an indirect tax imposed on commodities that are harmful to public health or the environment.

The purpose of the tax is to limit the consumption of those commodities while contributing to an increase in government revenues.

According to preliminary estimates, the authority expects government revenues to increase to seven billion dirhams annually after the collection of the selective tax.



Gazprom, CNPC Discuss Future Russian Gas Supplies to China

A view shows a board with the logo of Russian gas producer Gazprom at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo
A view shows a board with the logo of Russian gas producer Gazprom at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo
TT
20

Gazprom, CNPC Discuss Future Russian Gas Supplies to China

A view shows a board with the logo of Russian gas producer Gazprom at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo
A view shows a board with the logo of Russian gas producer Gazprom at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo

The heads of Russia's Gazprom and China's energy company CNPC discussed future Russian gas supplies to China during talks in Beijing, Gazprom said on Friday, as Moscow seeks stronger ties with the world's biggest energy consumer.

Russia, the holder of world's largest gas reserves, has diverted oil supplies from Europe to India and China since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Reuters said.

At the same time, Russia's diversification of pipeline natural gas from the European Union has been slow.

It started gas exports to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline in the end of 2019 and plans to reach the pipeline's annual exporting capacity of 38 billion cubic meters this year.

Russia and China have also agreed on exports of 10 bcm of gas from Russia's Pacific island of Sakhalin starting from 2027.

However, years of talks about the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would ship 50 bcm of gas per year to China via Mongolia, have yet to be concluded as the two sides disagree over issues such as the gas price.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China in early September to participate in celebrations marking the anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II.

The trip follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow in May.