Tax & Compliance · Excise Tax

Excise tax registration in the UAE

If you import, produce or stockpile tobacco, electronic smoking devices, the liquids used in them, energy drinks or sweetened drinks, you must register for excise tax before you bring them into the country. There is no turnover threshold — unlike VAT, the first shipment creates the obligation.

Cabinet Decision 197 of 2025In force 1 January 2026Every figure cited to the FTA or MoF

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What is taxed

The goods and rates, from 1 January 2026

The list of excise goods and their rates is set by Cabinet Decision No. 197 of 2025, which repealed Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2019.

Tobacco and tobacco products 100%

Electronic smoking devices and tools 100%

Liquids used in those devices 100%

Energy drinks 100%

Sweetened drinks, 8g or more per 100ml AED 1.09 per litre

Sweetened drinks, 5g to under 8g per 100ml AED 0.79 per litre

Sweetened drinks, under 5g per 100ml AED 0 per litre

Artificial sweeteners only AED 0 per litre

What to know

Two structural changes matter more than the numbers

Carbonated drinks are no longer an excise category. Article 2 lists five excise goods and a fizzy drink is not one of them. A carbonated drink is now taxed only if it meets the definition of a sweetened drink, and then on its sugar content like any other beverage — so a sugar-free cola that used to bear 50% falls in the nil band, and a sugary one is taxed per litre rather than on price.

Sweetened drinks moved from a percentage to an amount. The old 50% applied to the excise price; the new charge is a fixed sum per litre. Tax now tracks volume and sugar rather than what you sell the drink for, which changes the arithmetic in both directions depending on your price point (Ministry of Finance, FTA).

The certificate that decides your bandProducers, importers and stockpilers of sweetened drinks must hold the Emirates Conformity Certificate for Sugar and Sweeteners Content in Beverages (for Excise Tax purposes), issued by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, and submit it when registering the product with the FTA. Without an accepted laboratory report the product is taxed in the highest sugar band until one is produced — the default is not "unclassified pending review", it is AED 1.09 per litre.
What is outside the definitionExcluded from sweetened drinks: a beverage that is at least 75% milk, one that is at least 75% milk substitutes, baby formula and baby food, beverages for special dietary needs or medical use, and drinks made to order in a restaurant and served in open, unsealed containers. Drinks containing alcohol sit outside the energy-drink and sweetened-drink articles entirely.
Naturally occurring sugar counts, once there is added sugarWhere a drink has added sugar or sweeteners, the naturally occurring sugar is counted within the total for the band. That is how a juice with a little added sugar can land higher than its label suggests.
Excise is a stockpiling tax as well as an import taxHolding excise goods you intend to sell can create a liability even if you did not import them yourself — a trap for a distributor buying locally, or a retailer who acquires stock along with a business.
Some government summary pages are still showing the old ratesSearch results still surface pre-2026 flat rates, including a 50% line for carbonated drinks. Cabinet Decision No. 197 of 2025 is the operative text and the table above follows it.

At a glance

The essentials

Registration threshold: None. The first import, production or stockpiling creates the obligation
Who must register: Importers, producers, stockpilers, and operators releasing goods from a designated zone
Return frequency: By the 15th day following the end of each tax period
Registered with: The Federal Tax Authority — federal, not per emirate
Rates set by: Cabinet Decision No. 197 of 2025, effective 1 January 2026
Sweetened-drink certificate: Emirates Conformity Certificate issued by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology

Does this apply to you

Does excise tax reach you?

The test is what you do with the goods, not how much of them you move.

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This applies to you if

You import any excise goodTobacco, electronic smoking devices and their liquids, energy drinks or sweetened drinks.
You produce them in the UAEIncluding concentrates, powders, gels and extracts that convert into a sweetened drink.
You release goods from a designated zoneThe release into free circulation is the taxable event.
You stockpile for saleThe definition turns on quantity and intent, and it catches distributors who bought locally.

It may not apply if

You only retail goods already taxed upstreamThe duty sits with whoever brought them into free circulation. Worth confirming rather than assuming.
Your drinks are outside the definitionAt least 75% milk or milk substitutes, baby formula, medical or special dietary beverages, or made to order and served unsealed.
Your product contains alcoholAlcoholic drinks sit outside the energy-drink and sweetened-drink articles.

FAQ

Common questions

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How often do I file?

Excise returns are due by the 15th day following the end of each tax period, which is more frequent than VAT. Plan for it.

What if my product's classification is unclear?

Classification drives the rate, and it is worth settling before the first shipment rather than after. The FTA can require documents or laboratory tests to establish what a product is, and may treat it as an excise good until the contrary is proved.

Do I need to register in each emirate?

No. Excise tax is federal — one registration with the Federal Tax Authority.

My drink is sugar-free but fizzy. Am I still taxed?

Not on the old basis. Carbonated drinks stopped being a standalone excise category on 1 January 2026. A fizzy drink is taxed only if it meets the sweetened-drink definition, and a drink with only artificial sweeteners, or under 5g of sugar per 100ml, sits in the nil band.

What happens if I have no laboratory report yet?

The drink is taxed in the highest sugar band — AED 1.09 per litre — until an accepted report is submitted, after which it is accounted for in the correct band.