UAE Excise Tax applies to businesses dealing with specified excise goods, including tobacco products, electronic smoking devices and liquids, energy drinks and sweetened drinks. ZeroSync helps Dubai importers, producers, stockpilers and businesses releasing excise goods from Designated Zones assess registration, organise excise-product data, prepare declarations and returns, reconcile excise records and respond to the major 2026 changes affecting sweetened beverages and electronic-smoking liquids.
Excise Tax is a UAE federal indirect tax imposed on specified goods. Businesses can become liable when they import excise goods, produce excise goods for UAE consumption, stockpile excise goods in certain cases or release excise goods from a Designated Zone. The tax rules affect registration, product information, inventory movement, declarations, returns, supporting records and payment.
The 2026 framework is materially different for sweetened beverages: from 1 January 2026, sweetened drinks moved from a flat-rate approach to a tiered volumetric model based on sugar and other sweetener content. Carbonated drinks are no longer treated as a separate excise category merely because they are carbonated; their treatment now follows the current sweetened-drink rules where applicable.
VAT applies broadly to taxable supplies and imports. Excise Tax applies only to specified excise goods and uses its own registration, product, declaration and return procedures. A business can therefore have both VAT and Excise Tax obligations.
Remain subject to Excise Tax under the tobacco-product framework, including applicable excise-price and product-control requirements.
Electronic smoking devices and tools remain within the Excise Tax regime and are generally subject to a 100% tax rate on the applicable excise price.
Liquids used in electronic smoking devices remain subject to a 100% rate. A new minimum excise price of AED 1 per ml takes effect from 1 September 2026.
Energy drinks remain outside the sweetened-drink volumetric calculation and continue under the 100% excise-rate method.
From 1 January 2026, qualifying sweetened drinks are taxed under a sugar-content-based volumetric system rather than the former flat percentage.
Carbonation is no longer a separate excise category from 2026. The product must be reviewed under the current sweetened-drink definition and exclusions.
Cabinet Decision No. 197 of 2025 introduced the tiered volumetric model from 1 January 2026. Under the current Ministry of Finance and FTA implementation announcements, high-sugar drinks containing at least 8 grams of total sugar and other sweeteners per 100 ml are subject to AED 1.09 per litre. Medium-sugar drinks containing at least 5 grams but less than 8 grams are subject to AED 0.79 per litre. Low-sugar drinks below 5 grams and qualifying artificially sweetened drinks are subject to AED 0 per litre.
Products containing only natural sugar, such as qualifying 100% natural fruit or vegetable juice without added sugar or other sweeteners, are outside the sweetened-drink definition for this model. Other exclusions also exist for specified milk, baby, medical and direct-consumption products.
≥ 8g per 100ml — AED 1.09 per litre.
≥ 5g and < 8g per 100ml — AED 0.79 per litre.
< 5g per 100ml — AED 0 per litre.
Qualifying artificially sweetened drinks — AED 0 per litre under the current model.
From 1 January 2026, the FTA requires producers, importers and stockpilers of sweetened drinks to obtain the Emirates Conformity Certificate for Sugar and Sweeteners Content in Beverages for Excise Tax purposes through the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology process. The certificate follows accredited laboratory testing and is submitted when the beverage is registered or updated with the FTA.
If the required conformity evidence is not provided, the FTA has stated that the drink can be classified in the high-sugar category until approved evidence supports a lower category.
| Activity | Registration question | Typical records |
|---|---|---|
| Import excise goods | Does the person regularly import goods that create an Excise Tax liability? | Customs/import records, supplier invoices, product registrations and declarations. |
| Produce excise goods | Are excise goods produced and released for consumption in the UAE? | Production records, quantities, product details, stock movement and declarations. |
| Stockpile excise goods | Do the stockpiling provisions apply to the person and quantities held? | Opening/closing stock, purchases, releases and tax-paid / tax-suspended evidence. |
| Release from Designated Zone | Are excise goods being released from a registered Designated Zone into a taxable situation? | Warehouse records, transfer/release data, customs evidence and declarations. |
Identify excise goods, business roles, locations and Designated Zone involvement.
Complete Excise Tax registration through EmaraTax where the business is required to register.
Register or update excise goods and maintain conformity / pricing information required for the category.
Submit applicable import, production, Designated Zone and deductible-tax declarations during the Tax Period.
Review the populated return, reconcile the liability, file by the applicable deadline and retain supporting records.
On 6 August 2026, the Ministry of Finance announced a new minimum Excise Price for liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools. The minimum price is AED 1 per millilitre and takes effect on 1 September 2026. The underlying Excise Tax rate on these liquids remains 100%.
Businesses importing, producing or holding affected liquids should review product records and excise-price calculations before the effective date so September transactions are not processed using an outdated price basis.
This minimum-price rule is not yet effective on 18 August 2026. It begins on 1 September 2026, so transaction dates and product records should be controlled around the transition.
The FTA states that Excise Tax returns are automatically populated from applicable declarations, including import declarations, production declarations, release-from-Designated-Zone declarations not requiring customs clearance and deductible Excise Tax declarations. Registered persons are required to file by the 15th day following the end of the relevant Tax Period.
ZeroSync reviews the declarations against inventory, import, production and accounting records so the return is not treated as a standalone form disconnected from the underlying movement of excise goods.
Reconcile customs/import information to product quantities and excise records.
Connect manufactured quantities and releases to the declarations submitted for the period.
Track goods entering, moving within and leaving the zone under the applicable controls.
Support deductions with the required evidence before they reduce the return liability.
Registration and return filing remain separate specialist intents. Use the child service that matches the immediate requirement.
Excise rules can change by product and effective date. The FTA and Ministry of Finance sources below are the primary references used for the 2026 framework on this page.
Businesses can be required to register where they import excise goods, produce excise goods for UAE consumption, stockpile excise goods in specified cases or release excise goods from a Designated Zone.
The FTA registration framework is based on excise activities rather than the VAT turnover threshold. A limited exception can apply to persons who demonstrate that excise imports or Designated Zone releases will not occur regularly.
From 1 January 2026, qualifying sweetened drinks moved to a tiered volumetric model based on sugar and other sweetener content per 100 ml instead of the previous flat-rate method.
Under current MoF/FTA implementation announcements: high sugar at 8g or more per 100ml is AED 1.09/litre; medium sugar from 5g to under 8g is AED 0.79/litre; low sugar below 5g and qualifying artificial-sweetener categories are AED 0/litre.
No. Energy drinks remain subject to the existing 100% Excise Tax rate method and are not moved into the tiered sweetened-drink model.
A new minimum Excise Price of AED 1 per ml takes effect for liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools. The Excise Tax rate remains 100%.
The FTA requires registered persons to file the Excise Tax return by the 15th day following the end of the relevant Tax Period.
No. The FTA and other relevant UAE authorities issue registrations, product records and conformity approvals. ZeroSync provides assessment, preparation, filing and record-support services.
Tell us whether you import, produce, stockpile or release excise goods and which product categories you handle. We can map the registration, product and return requirements.
