The Finance Ministry has prepared the draft law in accordance with the GCC unified agreement for selective tax, and the GCC Supreme Council decision recently issued in the 37th session held in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The decision specifies the imposition of selective tax uniformly between the GCC countries according to the schedule of goods and percentages set in that resolution. The Qatar Government has accepted a draft law to charge a tax on selective goods and beverages. The selective tax is different from the 5% value-added tax (VAT) that is to be implemented across the GCC countries in 2018.
According to the provision of the draft law, the selective tax will be imposed on goods harmful to human health and the environment, and the luxury goods produced domestically or imported and set forth in the table attached to the law, and in accordance with the tax rates specific to it. The draft law contains provisions concerning application dates for the selective tax, circumstances where selective goods are presented for consumption, persons in charge of application, registration for tax purposes, maintenance of books and records for recording the movement of selective goods, tax assessment on the basis of the tax recognition and installed data, cases of suspension of tax and its recovery and exemption and confidential information and financial sanctions.
