Once registered, businesses dealing in excisable goods must file Excise Tax returns – typically monthly – declaring production, imports, releases from designated zones and any deductions, along with paying the tax due. Our Excise Tax Return / Compliance service manages this ongoing obligation, keeping your filings accurate and on time so a routine monthly requirement never becomes a compliance risk.
If your business has not yet completed its Excise Tax registration, our Excise Tax Registration service can manage the registration process before ongoing filing begins.
What's Included
We maintain your excisable goods records, calculate the Excise Tax due each period based on your production, import and stockpile movements, prepare and submit your monthly return through EmaraTax, and arrange payment within the FTA’s deadline.
Where your business also deals in designated zones for excisable goods, we track goods movements in and out of those zones specifically, since these carry particular Excise Tax treatment that a standard bookkeeping process often misses.
We also reconcile your monthly excise tax filings against your broader accounting records periodically, catching any drift between the two before it compounds over several months.
Why Ongoing Compliance Matters
Excise Tax returns are due monthly, considerably more frequent than VAT’s typical quarterly cycle, and missing a deadline or miscalculating the tax due exposes the business to penalties on top of the tax itself. Given the high rates involved — up to 100% on some product categories — even a small calculation error can represent a meaningful financial exposure.
Consistent, accurate monthly filing also builds a clean compliance record that matters if the FTA ever conducts an Excise Tax audit or review of your business.
A consistent monthly process also frees up time internally that would otherwise go toward re-learning the calculation and filing steps from scratch each period.
Who Needs This Service
Any business already registered for Excise Tax and required to file monthly returns, including importers, producers and stockpilers of tobacco products, energy drinks, carbonated and sweetened drinks, and electronic smoking devices and liquids.
What We'll Need From You
Your Excise Tax Registration Number, monthly production, import and stockpile movement records, and access to your accounting system or the raw data needed to calculate excise tax due each period.
Our Process
We reconcile your monthly excisable goods movements, calculate the tax due, prepare and submit the return through EmaraTax, and confirm payment is made within the deadline.
Handling Price Changes and New Products
When you introduce a new excisable product or change pricing on an existing one, the Excise Tax calculation needs to be reassessed accordingly. We review new product introductions and pricing changes as part of ongoing compliance, so your monthly filings stay accurate as your product range evolves.
Get Expert Help for Your Business
Talk to an FTA-approved tax consultant today. Free consultation, no obligation — we’ll tell you exactly what your business needs.
Getting Started
Share your Excise Tax Registration Number and current record-keeping process, and we will set up a monthly filing routine that fits how your business already tracks excisable goods movements.
Excise Tax Refunds and Deductions
In certain circumstances — such as excisable goods exported outside the UAE, or goods on which Excise Tax has already been paid and are subsequently used in the production of another excisable good — deductions or refunds may be available. We identify and claim these where they genuinely apply, rather than leaving money on the table.
Preparing for an FTA Excise Tax Audit
The FTA can review Excise Tax compliance at any point, examining production, import and stockpile records against filed returns. Businesses with consistent, well-documented monthly filings are considerably better positioned for a smooth review than those reconstructing records after the fact.
Our External Audit service can also support businesses that require a broader independent review of their financial records, although Excise Tax compliance itself remains a separate FTA tax obligation.
Excise Tax Compliance for Growing Product Ranges
As a business adds new excisable products over time, keeping the monthly return accurate becomes more complex, particularly where different products carry different rates. We build a filing process that scales with your product range rather than requiring rework each time something new is added.
We keep a running log of each product’s classification and rate, so onboarding a new product into the monthly filing process is quick rather than requiring a fresh classification exercise each time.
Where the business is launching an entirely new excisable product line, our Excise Tax Registration service can handle the registration considerations before trading begins.
Handovers From a Previous Excise Tax Adviser
Where you’re switching from a previous Excise Tax adviser, we request the standard handover information — prior filings, registration details, and any open FTA correspondence — so continuity is maintained and nothing from the transition period is missed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Excise Tax returns are typically due monthly, considerably more frequent than the standard VAT filing cycle.
The FTA applies penalties for late filing and late payment, calculated separately and in addition to any Excise Tax due.
Yes — movements of excisable goods in and out of a designated zone carry specific treatment that must be tracked and reported accurately.
Yes — we review your existing filing history and records before taking over, to ensure continuity and catch any prior period issue before it becomes a bigger problem.
Detailed records of production, imports, stockpiles, designated zone movements and any deductions claimed, which the FTA can request during a review or audit.