Accounting Support for UAE Trading Companies

Trading businesses in Dubai and the wider UAE

Trading companies often carry more transactions than people. Purchases, landed costs, short-dated stock and a bank account that moves every day will overwhelm a spreadsheet. Deira and the wider Dubai market are built on this kind of business. The accounting has to keep up with the shipments, not the other way around.

Records that match the goods

A trading ledger should show what was bought, what it cost to bring in, what was sold and what is still on hand. Without that link, gross margin is a guess and the VAT return cannot be tied to the boxes.

• Purchase and sales recording
• Bank reconciliation at a frequency that matches the volume
• Inventory support at the level the business actually counts stock
• Import documentation filed with the related purchase

VAT on trading

Imports, local purchases and exports are not the same supply. The standard rate is 5% where a supply is taxable at that rate. Exports of goods can be zero-rated only when the conditions in the VAT law are met, which is a question of evidence, not of intention. We look at the documents before a zero-rated box is used.

Corporate Tax then looks at the profit after the cost of goods. A large turnover with a thin margin is a different position from the same turnover with unrecorded costs. The return follows the accounts.