VAT filed digitally, on the right scheme, in both jurisdictions.
VAT is a cash tax with a penalty regime that starts at the first late return. We register you when you cross the threshold, put you on the scheme that suits your margins, and file every return from reconciled books.
The whole job, not the visible half.
Everything below is in scope on the plan that includes vat returns & compliance. Nothing on this list is an add-on.
- Registration when you cross the threshold, or voluntarily when it pays to
- Scheme selection: standard, flat rate, cash accounting, annual accounting, margin schemes
- Quarterly or monthly returns prepared from the ledger and filed through MTD or EmaraTax
- Reverse charge, imports, postponed VAT accounting and place-of-supply rules applied
- EC sales, OSS and IOSS for UK and EU ecommerce sales
- Penalty-point tracking and voluntary disclosure where an error is found
Three situations we see every week.
Businesses approaching the threshold
Registration is compulsory once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in the UK or AED 375,000 in the UAE, measured on a rolling twelve months. Missing it costs the VAT you failed to charge.
Ecommerce sellers shipping across borders
Marketplace facilitator rules, IOSS and postponed accounting each change who accounts for the VAT and when.
Service businesses with international clients
Place-of-supply rules decide whether a UK invoice to a Dubai client carries VAT at all. Getting it wrong is either lost margin or a liability.
Four steps, then a rhythm.
Registration review
We check your rolling turnover and the case for voluntary registration, then register you on the right effective date.
Scheme and setup
Software is configured for your scheme and your VAT codes, so returns are produced from the ledger rather than rebuilt.
Quarterly cycle
Returns are prepared within ten days of the period end, reviewed, and filed before the deadline with the payment amount confirmed.
Ongoing review
Turnover, scheme suitability and cross-border rules are reviewed annually.
The rules differ. So does the work.
The same service, applied to each jurisdiction's law. Figures checked September 2026.
Standard rate 20 percent, reduced 5 percent, zero rate 0 percent. Registration threshold £90,000, deregistration £88,000. Returns file under Making Tax Digital with penalty points for late submission and interest from day one on late payment.
Everything about the UK ↗Standard rate 5 percent since 1 January 2018. Mandatory registration at AED 375,000 of taxable supplies, voluntary at AED 187,500. Returns are filed on EmaraTax by the 28th of the month following the period. Late filing starts at AED 1,000 and late payment at 2 percent immediately, rising monthly.
Everything about the UAE ↗One senior accountant. One flat fee. Three countries.
Group figures are Shaazford Global LLC's published numbers across all its service lines.
Should I register voluntarily?
If your customers are VAT-registered businesses and you have significant input VAT on costs, usually yes. If you sell to consumers, registration raises your prices by 20 percent (UK) or 5 percent (UAE) unless you absorb it. We model both.
What is the flat rate scheme?
A UK simplification where you pay HMRC a fixed percentage of gross turnover and keep the difference, but cannot reclaim most input VAT. It suits low-cost service businesses under £150,000 turnover, and the limited-cost-trader rate of 16.5 percent catches many who assumed it would pay.
I sell on Amazon in the UK and the EU. Who charges the VAT?
For consumer sales through a marketplace, the marketplace is usually the deemed supplier and accounts for the VAT. Your own website sales are yours. We map each channel.
Do free-zone companies in the UAE pay VAT?
Yes, unless they are in a designated zone and the supply qualifies. Most free-zone companies register and file like any mainland business.
Talk to us about vat returns & compliance.
Thirty minutes, no pitch deck. Tell us the entities and the countries, and we will tell you honestly what applies and what it costs.