Qatar: General Tax Authority issued Minister’s decision No.12 on Excise Tax Refunds

In brief

On 29 September 2022, the Minister of Finance issued the Ministerial Decision No.12 2022 on Excise Tax refund.

The decision was published in the Official Gazette No.13-2022 dated 9 November 2022. This decision takes effect from 10 November 2022.

In addition to the cases mentioned in Article 12 of the Excise Tax Law, the decision specifies the additional cases of refund of excise tax paid on excisable goods released for consumption but not consumed in Qatar. These cases include damaged, lost or stolen excise goods, excise goods which are sold locally but are intended to be consumed outside Qatar (e.g. goods to be sold in the duty free shops, on-board consumption, etc.)

In detail

In reference to Article 12 of the Excise Tax Law, the Minister of Finance issued decision No.12 for the year 2022 to specify the additional cases of excise tax refund as follows:

Excise goods that are damaged or lost outside a tax suspension arrangement and the taxable person proves that the damage or loss is due to reasons beyond their control;

Excise goods that are acquired locally by military authorities in accordance with regional and international agreements to which Qatar is a party of the agreement;

Excise goods that are purchased locally by the duty free shops and where exemption conditions are met;

Excise goods that are picked up locally by airlines or international shipping companies and sold or consumed during international passenger transportation for which exemption conditions are met;

Excise goods that are used exclusively for therapeutic purposes by health institutions and where the conditions of exemption are met;

Excise goods that are exported or re-exported by a person who is not obligated to pay tax.

Since the rate of excise tax ranges from 50% to 100% depending upon the nature of the goods, a successful refund should have a positive impact on the profits or net income of the businesses.

The takeaway

This decision provides clarity on the additional cases of refund of excise tax paid on excisable goods released for consumption but not consumed in Qatar, that will impact businesses engaged in international passenger transportation, duty free shops, export of excise goods, storage and transportation of excise goods, etc.