UAE requires VAT on court- and arbitration-appointed judicial expert fees
This page records one dated change. For the rules in United Arab Emirates as they stand today, see the United Arab Emirates guide →
- Jurisdiction
- United Arab Emirates
- Tax
- VAT
- Change type
- Compliance
- Status
- In force
- Impact
- Plan ahead
- Announced
- 8 July 2026
- Effective
- 8 July 2026
- Instrument
- AE-DIRECTIVE-ON-TAX-TRANSACTIONS-NO-1-OF-2026
- Authority
- Federal Tax Authority (UAE)
- Systems
- Invoicing, Tax engine
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
Any person on the Ministry of Justice roster of experts, or on a local judicial authority or arbitration centre roster, when appointed by a court to provide expert services and required to register for VAT under Article 13 of the VAT Law.
Treat court- and arbitration-appointed judicial expert services as taxable supplies and confirm VAT is charged on fees invoiced from 8 July 2026.
InvoicingTax engine
The UAE Federal Tax Authority issued Directive on Tax Transactions No. 1 of 2026 (issued 8 July 2026), clarifying that VAT-registered judicial experts appointed by courts, judicial authorities or arbitration centres are making taxable supplies when acting in that capacity, so fees received for judicial expert services are subject to VAT; judicial experts must assess their mandatory VAT registration obligation and comply with invoicing and reporting requirements. The directive’s own signature block reads “Issued on 23 Muharram 1448H Corresponding to 8 July 2026”; the Federal Tax Authority legislation portal shows a Publish Date of 10 July 2026.
What changed in detail
The UAE Federal Tax Authority issued Directive on Tax Transactions No. 1 of 2026, dated 23 Muharram 1448H (8 July 2026), on VAT for judicial expert services. Where a natural or legal person on the Ministry of Justice’s roster of experts — or on a local judicial authority’s or arbitration centre’s roster — is appointed by a court to provide expert services, those services are treated as supplied in the course of business in the UAE and constitute taxable supplies under Articles 1 and 2 of the VAT Law. Any amount the judicial expert receives for such services is Consideration for a supply, and the expert must register for VAT under Article 13 once the registration conditions are met, if not already registered. Receiving payment from a government entity does not change this tax treatment. The Directive is to be published in the Official Gazette.
What it means
Court- and arbitration-appointed judicial experts are not exempt from VAT because their fees flow through a legal proceeding — the FTA is treating the appointment as an ordinary taxable business activity. Anyone on an expert roster who has been invoicing without VAT, or without checking the Article 13 threshold, should reassess registration and invoicing now; the exposure runs from the Directive’s issue date, not from when the expert notices it.
Proof
Where a natural or a legal person who is registered in the Roster of experts with the Ministry of Justice or a local judicial authority or arbitration centers ("Judicial Expert"), is appointed by the competent court to provide Expert Services, such Services shall be regarded as being supplied in the course of a Business in the UAE, and shall constitute Taxable Supplies in accordance with the Definitions stated in Article 1 of the VAT Law and the provisions of Article 2 of the VAT Law.
Source snapshot of the official page. Open full size ↗Archived from the official distribution · Directive on Tax Transactions No. 1 of 2026 · Issued 23 Muharram 1448H / 8 July 2026 · tax.gov.ae