Khaleej Times, Thursday, Jan 19, 2023 | Jamadi Al Thani 26, 1444
New UAE rule: Attestation mandatory for import invoices worth Dh10,000 above; violators to face fines
Emirates:
Companies in UAE will soon be subject to a new compliance requirement as they
would be required to attest import invoices with a value of Dh10,000 and above
by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Mofaic).
According to a tweet issued by Mofaic — as per Cabinet Resolution No. 38 of 2022
regarding fees for certification of invoices and certificates of origin for
imports into the UAE — this new rule will come into effect on February 1, 2023.
Mayank Sawhney, managing director at MaxGrowth Consulting, said this new
regulation will apply to all goods imported into the UAE with a value of
Dh10,000 and above and the attestation of Invoices will be done electronically.
“The attestation cost of Dh150 per commercial invoice will be applicable and
customers will have a grace period of 14 days after the declaration of goods to
comply with the attestation. Failure to do so will result in a penalty of Dh500
per invoice levied by the Mofaic on the non-complying businesses,” said Sawhney.
Exemptions
However, the exemptions will be applicable for certain categories including
invoices with a value below Dh10,000, personal imports, goods imported from Gulf
Cooperation Council countries, and those brought into free zones.
In addition, transit goods imports, B2C e-commerce movements, diplomatic, police
and military, charitable societies, and international organisations goods will
not be covered.
The UAE's Mofaic has introduced an electronic online process to complete the
import invoice attestation by uploading the PDF documents. This will also
generate a reference number as proof of attestation.
The reference number is integrated with the UAE Customs system to confirm the
attestation is completed by the customer before import declaration, said Mayank
Sawhney.