Accounting and Bookkeeping Requirements as per FTA

Accounting and bookkeeping requirements as per Federal Tax Authority

Federal Tax Authority regulations for bookkeeping and accounting. Executive Regulation of Federal Decree Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures states that the following shall be included in accounting records and commercial books:

1. Books and records pertaining to the business that show or document payments and receipts, sales and purchases, revenues and expenses, and any other information that would be needed in accordance with the Tax Law or any other applicable law, such as but not limited to:

a) The profit and loss accounts and balance sheet.

b) Wage and salary records.

c) Fixed asset records.

d) Records of stock counts connected to inventory statements, as well as inventory records and statements (including quantities and values) at the conclusion of each applicable Tax Period.

2. All supporting documentation, including but not restricted to the following, for the entries in the commercial books and accounting records:

a) Business-related letters, invoices, licenses, and contracts.

b) Records that include information about any election, assessment, determination, or computation made by a taxpayer about the tax matters of its business, including the methodology or basis for the assessment, determination, or computation

In addition to the above mentioned, companies should maintain commercial books and accounting records by either keeping the original documents that substantiate the entries in the record or keeping the information in the original documents and keeping the record itself, as long as the data in the record and the original document match.
Unless otherwise specified by the Tax Law, all accounting records, business books, and information shall be kept and maintained in a manner that permits the Authority or any employee designated by it to confirm the Tax obligations imposed on the Person concerned:

a. Five years after the Tax Period to which they pertain in relation to a Taxable Person.

b. For all individuals other than Taxable Persons, a period of five (5) years from the end of the calendar year in which the relevant document was written.

c. Seven years from the end of the year that the relevant document was created for real estate records, to be exact.