Oman becomes fourth Gulf state to go live with VAT

Oman's government has introduced a 5% rate for value-added tax (VAT) on 16 April, having announced plans to do so in October last year.

It joins the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which both started charging VAT on 1 January 2018, while Bahrain set in motion the tax one year later on 1 January 2019.

Kuwait's plan to introduce the tax is still in the pipeline, according to international lawyers Pinsent Masons which said in a briefing note that "the Kuwait parliament's support for tax reform appears to be somewhat lacking. However, it is still expected to implement VAT by 2022, according to a March 2020 report by the International Monetary Fund - making it possibly the last of the GCC states to do so".

The government said that it has expanded the list of good that are subject to zero per cent tax from 93 to 488 basic food commodities.

Food commodities subject to zero value-added tax are vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, dates, spices, oils, fish, red meat and poultry, in addition to dairy, cheese, tea, coffee, sugar, salt, and juices without added sugar or sweeteners.