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FTA tax audit support
The FTA does not usually arrive without warning. It sends a notice, asks for records, and forms a view from what comes back. What comes back is the part you control.
- Notice
- In advance
- Records
- 5 years
- Closes the cheaper route
- The notice
The FTA notifies before an audit, with a stated scope.
The retention period VAT records must be kept for.
Once issued, voluntary disclosure drops to the 15% tier for that period.
In short
The FTA notifies a tax audit in advance and states its scope. Records must be kept for five years, longer for real estate, and produced on request. Once the notice is issued the cheaper correction route closes for the periods in scope — a fixed 15 per cent applies there — but periods outside the notice can still be disclosed at one per cent a month.
How it runs
- We read the notice for its real scopeWhich periods, which tax, which questions. Answering more than was asked is how a narrow audit becomes a wide one.
- The record set is assembledReturns, ledgers, invoices, import declarations, reconciliations. Complete and indexed, so nothing arrives in a second batch.
- Exposure is quantified before we replyIf something is wrong, we want to know it before the FTA tells us, and to decide whether an undisclosed period can still take the lower penalty route.
- We handle the correspondenceReplies, follow-up requests, and the meeting if one is called.
What we ask you for
- The audit notification
- Returns and working papers for the periods in scope
- Sales and purchase ledgers
- Import and export documentation
- Any prior FTA correspondence or assessments
What we see go wrong
- Sending everything you have. Scope discipline matters; volunteered records create new questions.
- Answering from memory instead of from the ledger.
- Missing that periods outside the notice can still be disclosed voluntarily at the lower rate.
Questions we get asked
Does the FTA give notice before a tax audit?
Yes. The FTA notifies the taxable person in advance and states the scope, which normally identifies the tax and the periods under review.
How long must I keep VAT records in the UAE?
Five years, and longer for records relating to real estate. They must be retrievable, which in practice means indexed rather than merely stored.
Can I still file a voluntary disclosure once an audit starts?
Not at the reduced rate for the audited period — a fixed 15% applies there. Periods outside the notified scope can still be disclosed on the lower 1%-a-month basis.
Read this next
Sources of record
- Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures — tax audits and record keeping
- Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2023 — Tax Procedures Executive Regulation, as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 17 of 2026 (in force 1 April 2026)
- Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 — administrative penalties, in force 14 April 2026
Written by Safvan, Managing Partner, UAE VAT and tax consultancy, from work carried out for UAE-registered clients. General information about UAE VAT, current at 12 August 2026. It is not tax advice and does not create a client relationship — see our disclaimer. Confirm your own position with the FTA, or with us, before acting.
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