Bahrain likely to be next GCC state to implement VAT

August 26, 2018

Dubai, Aug 26: Bahrain will be the next country to implement five per cent value-added tax (VAT) after the UAE and Saudi Arabia as part of the GCC framework agreed between the six states, according to tax experts.

David Stevens, VAT implementation leader, EY, expects Bahrain, Qatar and Oman to implement in early 2019 - though no firm dates have been set yet - with Kuwait likely to be the last, perhaps later in 2019.

"We hope all four will make public announcements as to their intended start dates after Eid Al Adha, so businesses can act with some certainty in their time consuming and essential readiness preparations," Stevens said.

Surandar Jesrani, managing partner and CEO, Morison MJS Tax Consultancy, said as per the unified GCC VAT agreement, GCC member states are mandated that any 2 member states should to implement VAT law within 1 year. Hence, the UAE and Saudi Arabia introduced VAT on January 1, 2018 and ideally, all other GCC member states i.e. Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain should implement VAT by January 1, 2019.

"In view of local economic and political considerations, I understand that the process of introduction of VAT in other GCC countries is at various stages of preparation with Bahrain likely to implement first followed by Oman and Kuwait," he added. Jesrani said as per latest reports, Bahrain should implement VAT by January 1, 2019, though initial plan was to implement from October 1, 2018.

The Sultanate of Oman has announced that VAT would be introduced in 2019, most likely mid-2019. The Kuwaiti parliament is yet to vote on the VAT bill which should be introduced in the upcoming session before the year-end. Accordingly, the expected timeline of introduction of VAT in Kuwait is late 2019 or even 2020.

Based on news reports and public announcements by the Governments of Kuwait and Oman, Jesrani sees a delay in introduction of VAT in these countries.

According to EY, five per cent VAT is expected to produce revenues of over $25 billion per annum for the six GCC countries. This will allow them to amend the tax policy and other fees and charges and increase infrastructure investments.

Different VAT regulations

David Stevens stated that under the GCC VAT Framework Agreement that all six GCC countries signed, there are a range of policy and administrative decisions that are left to each member state to make their own choices.

"These include the treatment of basic foodstuffs, real estate, oil and gas, financial services, education, healthcare and domestic transport. The 5 per cent VAT is the only positive rate though that can be used and rules around intra-GCC supplies, exports, international transport, the registration threshold (of $100,000 mandatory), and the need to issue tax invoices are all set out in the Agreement," Stevens added.

Jesrani said the unified GCC VAT agreement provides member states the flexibility for taxing various sectors and industries as per local requirements.

Accordingly, there is definitely room for Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman to introduce a different VAT law than implemented by either UAE or Saudi Arabia so local dynamics are taken care.

However, considering that GCC is a unified commerce zone, Jesrani expects that the proposed laws may be similar to UAE and KSA in respect of taxing international transactions.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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