Part 5 · Money, deadlines and trouble · Chapter 13

The mistake Sanjay found: Compliance & penalties

What missing a deadline actually costs

Sanjay is upset. Going through old invoices, he has found that last quarter's VAT return left out an AED 20,000 renovation job. The deadline has passed. "Do I just add it to this quarter and say nothing?"

Fatima closes the door. "This is the most important chapter in your career. What you advise now decides how much this costs him."

Your mission

• Know when a Voluntary Disclosure is required.
• Compare the cost of disclosing early with being found in an audit.
• Know how long records must be kept.

Rules settled in this chapter

• "Can we just fix it quietly?": Correct a past error that changes the tax owed with a Voluntary Disclosure. Disclosing before an audit notice is treated much more favourably.
• How long do I keep the receipts?: Keep records at least five years, longer for capital assets and real estate, and be able to produce them when the FTA asks.

Why deadlines matter beyond "being late"

• Registration, filing, and payment are separately enforced
• Illustrative penalty figures
• The rest of the penalty table

Voluntary Disclosure

• Telling the FTA before they find it

Record-keeping

• How long, and why it varies

Tax Agents and disputing an FTA decision

• Tax Agents
• If you disagree with an FTA decision

E-invoicing: what changes from 2027

• From PDF invoices to structured data
• How it works
• The timeline
• What is excluded

The full notes, client files and practice for this chapter unlock with the Course + Practice Pack.

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