Accounting Support for UAE E-commerce Businesses

The sale is not the settlement

Online sellers receive a net deposit from a gateway or a marketplace. The gross sale, the commission, the refund and the shipping charge are separate amounts. Recording only the deposit understates revenue and hides the fee. Both matter for management accounts and for VAT.

Records we ask for

A workable e-commerce file uses the store or marketplace report, the gateway statement and the bank account as three sources that must agree. Inventory, if goods are held, is tied to purchases and shipments rather than left as a year-end estimate.

• Gross sales separated from fees and refunds
• Gateway and marketplace reconciliation
• Purchase and shipping invoices
• A monthly margin that owners can read

VAT on online sales

Where the customer is, where the goods are, and who facilitates the supply can change the VAT treatment. Local sales of goods are not the same as electronic services supplied to customers outside the UAE. The standard rate remains 5% where a supply is standard-rated. Zero-rating depends on the conditions being met and documented.

Registration thresholds are unchanged by the fact that the shop is a website. A UAE-resident business still measures taxable supplies and imports against AED 375,000 for mandatory registration and AED 187,500 for voluntary registration. Corporate Tax then applies to taxable income of the selling entity, which may be a company even when the brand looks like a personal store.