Expo 2020 is a World Expo currently hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The Expo 2020 was rescheduled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic from October 2020 to April 2021.

During the world expo, individuals and businesses from around the world are descending upon Dubai to display and showcase their talents and achievements.

Further, the Official Participants in Expo 2020 will be incurring VAT on goods and services connected to their participation in Dubai and, based on meeting certain conditions, may be able to recover VAT on certain goods and services that were imported or acquired.

The registration application to recover VAT incurred can be made by one of the following methods:

• Where the Official Participant is not registered for UAE VAT, the refund applications can be made through the Bureau of Expo 2020 by submitting a special refund application to the Bureau.
• Where the Official Participant is registered for VAT, it may reclaim VAT via its UAE VAT return. It should be noted that the Official Participant must register for VAT if the value of their taxable supplies or imports (for commercial or non-official purposes) in the UAE exceeds, or is anticipated to exceed, the mandatory registration threshold of AED 375,000.

Our tax team is available to discuss the specific criteria for VAT recovery and how we can assist on the ongoing tax advisory support. Our team draws its expertise from almost 40 years of local experience in the UAE and in conjunction with our global BKR International member firms we are able to provide comprehensive tax services from planning and implementation tax advisory to ongoing reporting, compliance, and filing of returns.