Excise tax in the UAE: goods, rates and registration

What excise tax is and which goods it covers

Excise tax is charged under Federal Decree-Law No. 7 of 2017, as amended, most recently from 1 October 2025. The Cabinet sets the goods and rates. The current list is Cabinet Decision No. 197 of 2025, in force from 1 January 2026, which replaced Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2019.

Carbonated drinks are no longer a separate category. The 2019 decision taxed them at 50%; now a fizzy drink with added sugar or sweeteners is taxed as a sweetened drink. u.ae still shows the old percentage rates, so follow the Cabinet Decision.

For goods taxed at 100%, the tax works out at half the retail price before VAT (AED 5 on an energy drink with a designated retail price of AED 10 before VAT), unless the FTA's published price is higher. Minimum excise prices apply to tobacco: AED 0.40 per cigarette and AED 0.10 per gram of water pipe and similar tobacco. Cabinet Decision No. 137 of 2026 added a new minimum of AED 1 per ml of e-liquid from 1 September 2026.

Sweetened drinks: the sugar-based tax from 2026

A sweetened drink is any drink, or concentrate, powder, gel or extract that makes one, with added sugar or sweeteners. The tax is a fixed amount per litre based on total sugar and other sweeteners (artificial sweeteners don't count) per 100 ml, counting natural sugar when sugar or sweeteners are also added. A 2-litre bottle with 9 g per 100 ml carries AED 2.18 (2 × AED 1.09). The decision excludes:

• Drinks that are at least 75% milk or milk substitutes.
• Baby formula, follow-up formula and baby food.
• Special dietary and medical-use drinks under the GCC standards.
• Restaurant drinks served in open containers for direct consumption.

Producers, importers and stockpilers submit an Emirates Conformity Certificate from the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, based on an accredited lab test, when registering each drink on EmaraTax. Without it, the drink is taxed in the top band until a lab report proves a lower one. The FTA's topic page still shows AED 0.97 for the middle band; follow the Cabinet Decision's AED 0.79, which the FTA's 29 December 2025 announcement also uses.

Who must register for excise tax

There's no registration threshold. You must register with the FTA if, in the course of business, you:

• Import excise goods into the UAE.
• Produce excise goods released for consumption in the UAE.
• Stockpile excise goods, in the cases the Executive Regulation sets.
• Release excise goods from a designated zone, or run one as a warehouse keeper.

Article 5 of the law bars these activities before registration and requires you to apply within 30 days of the end of the month in which you carried out, or intended to carry out, the activity. The FTA may exempt a business that shows it won't import regularly. People importing for non-business purposes are excepted from registration, though tax can still be due on the import.

Excise registration is separate from VAT: if your taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000, see registering for VAT too. Importing excise goods starts with a trade license that allows it: see our guides to the import and export license and the general trading company route.

How to register for excise tax on EmaraTax

• 1. Prepare the documents. Trade license, incorporation documents if any, the signatory's Emirates ID, passport and proof of authority, and a stamped declaration on letterhead describing your excise activity and start date.
• 2. Apply on EmaraTax. Create a taxable person profile, open it and click Register on the Excise Tax tile. It's free, and the FTA lists 20 business days from a complete application.
• 3. Register your products. Add each excise good to the FTA's price list through Excise Goods Registration, yourself or through a clearing company on the list. Free, with 20 business days to process.
• 4. Running a designated zone? Register as a warehouse keeper (free). The FTA renews each zone's registration yearly, at AED 2,000 a zone at the time of writing.

Returns, payment, designated zones and tax stamps

The Executive Regulation (Cabinet Decision No. 37 of 2017, as amended) sets a one-month tax period, with the return and the tax due by the 15th day of the following month. The return fills itself from your import, production, designated-zone release and deductible-tax declarations.

The law defines a designated zone as a fenced free zone area entered and left only through a designated road, or another area the FTA places under a registered warehouse keeper. A zone meeting the Executive Regulation's conditions is treated as outside the UAE, so tax falls due when goods are released for consumption, and the warehouse keeper is liable if it's unpaid.

Digital tax stamps still apply to tobacco. The FTA's scheme page, updated 10 August 2026, covers cigarettes, water pipe tobacco and electrically heated cigarettes, with manufacturers applying high-security stamps to packs.

Penalties and how we help

Global Sky PRO isn't a registered tax agent and doesn't give tax advice. We prepare your EmaraTax excise and product registration files, organise license and signatory documents, and follow up FTA requests. For returns or advice, we refer you to a registered tax agent. See our FTA services.