FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026: How to Verify a Supplier Before Claiming Input VAT

Quick answers

What is FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026?

It sets the checks a VAT-registered business must carry out before deducting input VAT, from 1 October 2026: verify the supplier (identity, place of business, risk indicators), verify each supply (commercial reason, payment, price, licence), document the steps and keep a written policy. Supplies under AED 10,000 excluding VAT may be left out unless that supplier's total passes AED 100,000 over 12 months; above AED 375,000 a supplier also needs a UAE bank confirmation and a review of public information.

When must I verify a supplier under Decision No. 13 of 2026?

When you deal with the supplier for the first time, and again on recurring dealings if the supplier has not been verified in the previous 12 months (Article 5(1)). Each taxable supply you receive is checked as well (Article 5(2)).

Which supplies are exempt from the Decision No. 13 checks?

Taxable supplies with a consideration under AED 10,000 excluding VAT may be left out (Article 6(1)), but not when the total from that supplier exceeds AED 100,000 over the previous 12 months or is expected to over the next 12 (Article 6(2)).

What changes above AED 375,000 a year from one supplier?

You also need a written confirmation from a bank authorised in the UAE that the supplier has an account, with no reservations (it need not be addressed to you), and a review of public reviews and media coverage of the supplier from reliable sources (Article 3(4)).

Can I pay suppliers in cash under Decision No. 13?

The consideration should be paid electronically. A cash payment needs a documented commercial reason, must stay within the thresholds in the tax legislation and must be easy to verify (Article 4(2)(b)).

Is this tax advice?

No. This is general information about FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026. Confirm your obligations with the Federal Tax Authority or a qualified tax advisor.

What is FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026?

It is the FTA's list of checks a VAT-registered business must carry out on its suppliers and the supplies it receives before deducting input VAT. The FTA issued it on 22 July 2026 and it applies from 1 October 2026 (Article 7).

It is made for Article 54(bis) of the VAT Law, which deals with input VAT on supplies connected to tax evasion (Article 2). Advisers read the two together this way: if the FTA links a supply chain to evasion and you didn't carry out these checks, your deduction can be refused. The checks are your evidence that you did.

Who does Decision No. 13 apply to?

Every Taxable Person, meaning a business registered for VAT or required to be, for the supplies it receives before it deducts input VAT (Article 1 and Article 2). There is no size threshold for the business itself; the thresholds are per supply and per supplier. If you are not VAT registered, you don't deduct input VAT, so it doesn't apply.

When must I verify a supplier?

When you deal with a supplier for the first time, and again on recurring dealings if they haven't been verified in the previous 12 months (Article 5(1)). Each taxable supply you receive or accept is checked as well (Article 5(2)). In practice: verify at onboarding, re-verify every year you keep buying, and check each purchase as it comes in.

What do I check about the supplier?

Four things: who they are, where they work, whether risk signs apply and, for large suppliers, their bank account and reputation (Article 3).

1. Identity

• Supplier is an individual: a copy of a valid ID such as an Emirates ID or passport, and a meeting with them, in person or online, before the supply.
• Supplier is a company: check its incorporation on official databases or get a copy of the certificate, and make sure the details match its name, address and people; plus a copy of a valid ID of the director, agent or employee who represents it.

2. Address and place of business

Confirm the supplier has a real place of business, by suitable electronic means or a visit, and that the premises fit what they do.

3. Risk indicators

Make sure none of these applies:

• The supplier changed its address more than twice in the previous 12 months.
• It changed its key employees (managers, or the people you deal with) more than twice in the previous 12 months.
• It made deals out of proportion to its size and history, in volume, value or kind.

If one does apply, keep a clear, justified explanation of why, and give it to the FTA if asked. The explanation must not contradict what you know.

4. Over AED 375,000: bank account and reputation

When supplies from one supplier exceeded AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or are expected to over the next 12, you also need (Article 3(4)):

• A written confirmation from a bank authorised in the UAE that the supplier has an account, without reservations or conditions. It doesn't have to be addressed to you.
• A review of public reviews and media coverage of the supplier from reliable sources, consistent with the size and nature of their business and with no sign of suspected tax evasion.

What do I check about each supply?

That the deal makes commercial sense, the payment is clean, the price is plausible and the goods or services fit the supplier (Article 4):

• A general assessment of the transaction, and a genuine commercial reason for this supplier's part in it.
• Payment terms you can justify commercially. A third party paying or being paid, or payment to an account outside the supplier's country of incorporation, needs a reasonable explanation.
• Payment by electronic means. Cash needs a documented commercial reason, must stay within the thresholds in tax legislation and must be easy to verify.
• Prices or margins that are not unjustifiable or far from the market without a clear reason.
• Goods or services within the supplier's ordinary activity and its commercial licence.
• For goods: that they are genuine, where they come from, and that the supplier owns them or may sell them.
• If the supplier is an intermediary, a clear commercial explanation of its role.

Which supplies can I skip? The AED 10,000 and AED 100,000 rule

Taxable supplies with a consideration under AED 10,000, excluding VAT, may be left out of the checks (Article 6(1)). That exception falls away when supplies from the same supplier exceeded AED 100,000 over the previous 12 months, or are expected to over the next 12 (Article 6(2)).

Worked example

A café buys coffee beans for AED 3,000 plus VAT a month: AED 36,000 a year, every invoice under AED 10,000, the supplier under AED 100,000. Those purchases can be left out of the checks.

The same café rents kitchen equipment for AED 9,000 plus VAT a month. Each invoice is under AED 10,000, but the year adds up to AED 108,000, so it is expected to pass AED 100,000 and the exception doesn't apply: verify the supplier now and check each monthly supply. At AED 32,000 a month (AED 384,000 a year) a supplier would also cross AED 375,000, adding the bank letter and the reputation review.

What records and written policy do I need?

Document every verification step and keep the supporting documents so the FTA can see the checks were done (Article 5(3)). Also keep a written policy naming who implements, reviews and supervises the checks, with their powers and responsibilities, stored where you keep your required tax records (Article 5(4)).

VAT records are generally kept for at least five years after the tax period they relate to (Tax Procedures Executive Regulation, Article 3; see how long to keep invoices).

Is checking the supplier's TRN enough?

No. A TRN check isn't one of the measures listed in the Decision, and on its own it doesn't cover identity, premises or the supply. You still need it: input VAT is recovered only with a valid tax invoice, and every tax invoice must show the supplier's TRN (Executive Regulation Article 59). Check it in a minute with the TRN checker, and see where to find a company's TRN or what to do when the invoice has no TRN.

A short checklist for a small business

This is our practical reading of Articles 3 to 6, not wording from the Decision:

• Write the policy once. Who runs the checks, who reviews them and who supervises, with what authority; keep it with your tax records.
• New supplier: trade licence or incorporation details checked on an official database (or a copy of the certificate), ID of the person who represents them, a check that their place of business exists and fits what they sell, and the three risk indicators.
• Supplier over AED 375,000 a year: a UAE bank's letter confirming their account, and a note on public reviews and press about them.
• Every supply: a real business reason, electronic payment to the supplier's own account, a price in line with the market, and goods or services within their licence.
• Save the evidence with the supplier record and the invoice, dated, before the VAT goes into your return.
• Diary a re-check 12 months after each supplier's last verification.

Frequently asked questions