Date: April 5, 2021
To help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) be ready to manage the new Value Added Tax (VAT),
Zubair Small Enterprises Center, has partnered with the Omani International Development and Investment Company “OMINVEST”, in organizing a comprehensive program for entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises entitled “Know your VAT”. This initiative is considered to be the first initiative from the private sector to cover new value-added tax laws and procedures towards small and medium-sized enterprises, as the initiative aims to help entrepreneurs and small and medium- enterprises to develop their businesses through guiding them to be complied with the new VAT-related legislation and preparing them to be able to have smooth progress and introduction to the new value-added tax laws.
It is worth noting that, the Sultanate will implement the value-added tax law as of current April 16, according to Royal Decree No. 121/2020 issued on October 21 of last year approving the implementation of the value-added tax law, and it applies to companies whose taxable turnover exceeds 38,500 Omani riyals, which includes the majority of the small and medium enterprises. This matter will require an effort to spread the value-added tax culture and handhold entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises on complying with VAT, plus avoiding any implications.
Zubair Small Enterprises Center, in partnership with OMINVEST, seeks to provide an approach for its members to prepare them for compliance with the new value-added tax system through an integrated program entitled “Know Your VAT “. OMINVEST has been an important key partner of Zubair Small Enterprises Center for several years, as they have cooperated in many entrepenuriyal and SMEs related programs and initiatives.
Mr. Rashad bin Mohammad Al-Zubair, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Zubair Corporation, pointed out that the value-added tax is a new legislation that will be applied during this month on private sector enterprises, There is no doubt that it will include small and medium enterprises whose sales volume exceeds 38,500 Omani riyals, hence entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises must be fully aware of the requirements of VAT, whether financial or a process related to their business, and the importance of timely registration and application. He explained: that small and medium enterprises in most cases will not be ready to introduce value-added tax in their commercial projects and will need support and guidance to deal with it.
Said Al Sahib, Director of the Zubair Small Enterprises said, knowing that SMEs in most cases will be unprepared for the introduction of VAT, we are happy to partner with OMINVEST to provide some handholding for our members to prepare them for the new VAT regime through our programme “Know Your VAT”. We thank OMINVEST for their support and they have always been an important partner for many of our programmes related to entrepreneurship. OMINVEST has been a strategic partner of Zubair SEC’s flagship Direct Support Programme (DSP) for a number of years.”
He added, “The ‘Know Your VAT’ programme is a first-of-a-kind private sector initiative launched by us. Both OMINVEST and Zubair SEC are happy to work together to introduce the new VAT laws and procedures to members and SMEs. The participants should benefit greatly through this programme and they would be better prepared to handle the new VAT rules.”
AbdulAziz Al Balushi, Group CEO, OMINVEST said, “The implementation of VAT is expected to help the economy by generating revenue of around RO 400 million per annum. While larger companies have the teams and systems in place to seamlessly manage their VAT, SMEs may not be as well-equipped for that. Our partnership with Zubair SEC through this new initiative aligns very well with OMINVEST’s purpose of ‘Transforming Businesses to Enrich Societies’ – by having a more resilient SME sector, our chances for economic recover get better on the short and long run”.
He added, “We have been strategic partners of Zubair SEC’s Direct Support Programme since 2017 and due to the significant impact that the Centre has managed to create by supporting small businesses in the country, we’ve renewed our support year on year. We are proud to be working with Zubair SEC on this new initiative, which will add value and help young entrepreneurs have better control of the sustainability of their businesses”.
The ‘Know Your VAT’ programme is planned to deliver a comprehensive training to help SME’s understand VAT and its implementation. It includes three integrated modules such as webinars, animated videos and VAT document booklet.
The webinars will explain and educated on VAT law, compliance issues and implementation. The animated videos in Arabic should explain the VAT concept such as how to obtain registration, how to raise a proper tax invoice under VAT among other topics. The VAT document booklet includes templates that were designed in a digital format which will be available online for Zubair SEC members to download and print.
The capacity building and training efforts will be accompanied with advisory and hand-holding support services by Zubair SEC to assist its members throughout the implementation process if needed.
Moore, a leading global accountancy and consulting firm with a presence in 110 countries, was selected as a technical partner to deliver the “Know Your VAT” programme. They have been involved in UAE and Bahrain in the introduction and consultancy on VAT.