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Abu Dhabi clarifies 'small change' issue on VAT charges

Abu Dhabi - The retail chains in Abu Dhabi can round off the amount to 25 fils if the bill shows 5 or 10 fils payable.

The Abu Dhabi Economic Department (ADED) has resolved the issue faced by many consumers after the VAT came into effect on January 1. The complaint was regarding the amount of VAT stated in the bill.
The Department said that the retail chains in Abu Dhabi can round off the amount to 25 fils if the bill shows 5 or 10 fils payable. The consumer will pay 50 fils if the amount is above 25 fils and below 50 fils.
Ahmed Taresh Al Qubaisi, acting director of the Abu Dhabi Commercial Protection Section at the Abu Dhabi Economic Development Department, said that the procedure has been approved following a barrage of complaints that the department received from consumers regarding the payment of small change under Dh1 as stated in the purchase bill.
Al Qubaisi said that the consumer has to pay the difference in the bill amount. For example, if the bill value is Dh10.05, it would be rounded off to Dh10.25, and Dh10.35 would become Dh10.50.
The move is part of the department's keenness to prevent any violations in this regard or abuse of the value added tax by increasing the prices violating the consumers' rights.
The department received a number of complaints on the first few days after the implementation of VAT. The complaints varied from misusing the VAT by increasing the prices of items and collecting VAT without the registration of a store in the FTA's VAT system.
Strict action shall be taken against retail chains and stores, found misusing the implementation of VAT.