VAT Health Check in the UAE

A VAT health check is a structured review of how your business handles VAT — before the FTA reviews it for you. It finds errors in your returns, invoices and treatment of transactions while you can still correct them through a voluntary disclosure, which usually means lower penalties. Safeway runs VAT health checks for businesses that want certainty ahead of an audit or a sale.

What we review

• VAT returns against your accounting records
• Tax invoices and credit notes for compliance
• Treatment of zero-rated, exempt and out-of-scope supplies
• Input VAT recovery, including blocked items
• Reverse charge on imports and services
• Record keeping and the audit trail

Why run a VAT health check

The FTA can audit several past periods at once, and penalties for errors found on audit are higher than for errors you disclose yourself. A health check turns unknown risk into a clear list of items to fix.

How Safeway helps

• A written findings report with risk ratings
• Correcting entries and process fixes
• Preparing and filing voluntary disclosures where needed

Frequently asked questions

What is a VAT health check?

A structured review of your VAT returns, invoices and records to find and fix errors before an FTA audit.

Is it better to disclose VAT errors myself?

Usually yes. Penalties for errors you disclose through a voluntary disclosure are generally lower than those applied when the FTA finds them on audit.

How far back can the FTA audit VAT?

The FTA can generally review the past five years, and longer in cases of tax evasion, so older periods can still carry risk.

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