Tickets and cargo not subject to VAT: Gulf Air

Gulf Air’s air tickets and cargo are not subject to the Value Added Tax (VAT) which comes into force on 1 January 2019, said Gulf Air in a statement yesterday. Confirming the exemption, Gulf Air’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Captain Waleed Al Alawi, said Gulf Air is keen to cooperate with all VAT related stakeholders to review the implementation mechanisms during the trial period starting on 1 January 2019.

5pc VAT

Bahrain will levy 5 per cent VAT in a phased manner through transitional mandatory registration thresholds. According to the regulations, businesses earning over BD5m will have to be registered by 1 January 2019, while those making over BD500,000 and BD37,500 have to be registered by 1 July 2019 and 1 January 2020 respectively, reports say.

1000 enterprises registered

According to the latest reports, over 1000 local and international enterprises in the Kingdom have registered for the first phase of the VAT implementation. Assistant Undersecretary for Development and Policy of Public Revenues at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, Rana Ebrahim Faqihi, said that 668 enterprises in the Kingdom have already received their VAT registration, while more than 500 companies have initiated the process of registration.

Businesses below the mandatory registration thresholds for 2019 are not required to register next year while those wishing to voluntarily register in 2019 must exceed the voluntary registration threshold of BD18,750. Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa said in remarks carried by BNA earlier that the Kingdom will exclude oil products from VAT, as part of essential goods exclusion from the tax.

Report violations

The National Bureau for Taxation (NBT), in a statement released yesterday, said consumers are not required to register for VAT nor are they expected to go through the registration certificate procedures. NBT said consumers are encouraged to make sure that shops clearly display their VAT registration certificate prior to paying the VAT. To report any violations including levying the tax on goods and service not subject to VAT or charging VAT prior to its induction call 80008001 or email vat@mof.gov.bh.