The United Arab Emirates has amended its VAT Executive Regulation through a cabinet decision in force since 1 October 2026. It adds a clause requiring that anything sold with several components that cannot be separated be treated as a single supply.
What has happened
This is Cabinet Decision No. 149 of 2026, which amends Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017 — the VAT Executive Regulation — signed by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister, with an issuance date reading "Corresponding: 01 / September / 2026". Its Article 3.1 declares it "effective from 1 October 2026".
Article 2 adds three new clauses: clause 6 of Article 4, clause 3 of Article 54, and clause 19 of Article 55. The first reads, verbatim: "A Taxable Person may not consider a supply consisting of more than one component as multiple supplies if the nature of the supply and its economic substance demonstrate that these components are interconnected and cannot be separated. In such case, the supply shall be deemed a single composite supply, and shall be subject to the tax treatment in accordance with its principal component."
Clause 3 of Article 54 bars recovery of input VAT on a supply exceeding "the amount specified in a decision issued by the Minister" if paid in cash. The Decision does not set that amount: it defers to a future ministerial decision. Of the new provisions, one will be felt at the box office: Article 60.1(a) requires that credit notes carry "the words 'Tax Credit Note' clearly displayed on the credit note".
| Provision | In force from |
|---|---|
| Rest of the Decision | 1 October 2026 |
| Article 55, clauses 6, 7 and 19 | first tax year beginning after 1 October 2027 |
Why it matters
The Decision does not mention events, tickets, concerts or festivals. Not once. Most of its changes touch input VAT recovery and apportionment: Articles 53, 54 and 55. From the box office, it reads rather differently.
A VIP pass, a ticket with a drink included, or a hospitality package bundles admission and extras under a single price. If their components are interconnected and cannot be separated, clause 6 of Article 4 would point to a single supply, taxed according to its principal component. Which component counts as principal in a ticket with extras is a factual question the regulation leaves unresolved.
Two details land squarely on events. First, cash: a bar taking cash payments runs into the clause 3 limit on deduction above a threshold that does not yet exist. Second, the credit note wording: every refund and every cancellation runs through it.
This does not touch the VAT rate. Nor is it e-invoicing: a different instrument, a different timetable. The 30 October deadline to appoint a provider proceeds on its own track, and the permits and VAT rules for selling tickets in the UAE are unaffected here.
What to do about it
- List the products that bundle admission and extras. If they cannot be separated, there is one supply.
- Document which component is the principal one for each. The regulation does not decide this for you.
- Measure how much you take in cash. The Article 54.3 threshold will be set by a ministerial decision.
- Add "Tax Credit Note" to your credit note template, as Article 60.1(a) requires.