Cabinet Decision Cabinet Decision No. 82 of 2022 Cabinet

CD 82/2022 — Refund of input tax on building and operating mosques

Cabinet Decision No. 82 of 2022 on the Refund of Input Tax Incurred on the Construction and Operation of Mosques

In force Issued 16 August 2022 In force from 29 October 2022

Official Arabic text (opens in a new tab) English translation (unofficial) (opens in a new tab)

Official Arabic title
قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (82) لسنة 2022 — استرداد ضريبة المدخلات المتكبدة عن بناء المساجد وتشغيلها
Document type
Cabinet Decision
Number
82
Issued by
Cabinet
Administered by
Federal Tax Authority
Issued
16 August 2022
In force from
29 October 2022
Applies to
Donors who build Mosques and Operators who run and maintain them under a permit from the Competent Authority.
Current position
In force. No official text amending or repealing it was found. The filing deadlines and frequency are set by Ministerial Decision No. 162 of 2022.
Topics
VAT · Refunds
Official text
Official Arabic text · English translation (unofficial)

Factual summary

Allows Donors to recover the Input Tax incurred on building, equipping and furnishing a Mosque, and Operators to recover the Input Tax incurred on running and maintaining it, back to 1 January 2018. A Donor needs the Competent Authority's approval and a Mosque Operation Commencement Certificate; an Operator needs a registered Mosque and a written time-limited permit. Requests are filed on the FTA's form within ministerial deadlines, checked by the FTA or a Verification Body, and decided by the FTA.

What it means in practice Professional insight

Who: Mosque donors (persons involved in building a Mosque) and Mosque operators. What to check: the Operation Commencement Certificate or operating permit, that costs relate directly to the Mosque and not to commercial annexures, retention payments claimed within one year, and the MD 162/2022 windows.

Key provisions

  • Art. 1 A Donor is the Person or Persons involved in the construction of the Mosque; an Operator is the person responsible for operating and maintaining the Mosque under a written permit from the Competent Authority (the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, or the local authority concerned with Mosques' affairs); the Mosque includes its yards, entrances, annexures and facilities.
  • Art. 2(1), (4) The Donor may request a refund of Input Tax incurred on goods or services directly connected with the construction of the Mosque where the construction was approved by the Competent Authority, the Donor holds a Mosque Operation Commencement Certificate, and the Mosque is handed over, or intended to be handed over, to a Person approved by the Competent Authority (unless the handover is a Taxable Supply), or is operated by the Donor as approved; construction includes equipping, furnishing and maintenance before the operation date.
  • Art. 2(2)–(3) The Competent Authority issues the Mosque Operation Commencement Certificate within 60 days from the Mosque's completion, or from the effective date of the Decision for Mosques completed on or after 1 January 2018 without a certificate.
  • Art. 3 The Donor applies on the Authority's form within deadlines set by a Ministerial Decision; retention payments made after the certificate do not prevent the request being complete, and the VAT on them may be claimed in a subsequent request to the Authority within one year of payment; the Authority or the Verification Body reviews and audits the request and the Authority issues the final decision.
  • Arts. 4–5 The Operator may request a refund of Input Tax on goods or services directly connected with operating and maintaining the Mosque (not its commercial annexures) where the Mosque is registered with the Competent Authority and the Operator holds a written time-limited permit for the period claimed; the Competent Authority issues that permit within 60 days; requests are made on the Authority's form within timelines and frequency set by a Ministerial Decision.
  • Art. 6 The Donor or Operator may claim refund of Input Tax incurred from 1 January 2018 on the construction and operation of the Mosque.
  • Art. 8 Published in the Official Gazette; effective 60 days after the date of its publication.

What changed

  1. 16 August 2022 Issued
  2. 29 October 2022 In force

Relationship chain

Law → decisions made under it → amendments → guidance and announcements; oldest first within each level.

  1. 23 August 2017 Federal Decree-Law FDL 8/2017 — VAT Law In force — amended
    1. 26 November 2017 Cabinet Decision CD 52/2017 — VAT Executive Regulation — Executive Regulation of this law In force — amended
      1. 24 July 2018 Cabinet Decision CD 41/2018 — Introducing the VAT refunds for tourists scheme — Made under Art. 68 In force
        1. 29 August 2018 FTA Decision FTA Decision 1/2018 — Retailer requirements for the VAT refunds for tourists scheme — Made under it In force
        2. 28 April 2019 FTA Decision FTA Decision 1/2019 — AED 7,000 cap on cash VAT refunds to tourists (repealed) — Made under it Repealed
        3. 26 May 2022 FTA Decision FTA Decision 4/2022 — One-year time limit for tourists to claim VAT refunds — Made under it In force
        4. 21 July 2022 FTA Decision FTA Decision 6/2022 — AED 35,000 cap on cash VAT refunds to tourists — Made under it In force
      2. 6 November 2018 FTA Decision FTA Decision 2/2018 — VAT refunds for tourists (consolidated 2026) — Made under Art. 68 In force — amended
      3. 17 December 2018 FTA Decision FTA Decision 4/2018 — No tax invoice for supplies through vending machines — Made under Art. 59(7) In force
      4. 26 May 2019 FTA Decision FTA Decision 7/2019 — Combined tax invoice/credit note and mailing addresses — Made under Arts. 59, 60 In force
      5. 22 February 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 26/2023 — When a supply counts as electronic commerce for VAT records — Made under Art. 72(5) In force
      6. 14 July 2026 Directive on Tax Transactions DTT 4/2026 — VAT on fees within life insurance contracts — Made under Art. 42 In force
      7. 1 September 2026 Cabinet Decision CD 149/2026 — VAT Regulation amendments — Amends Arts. 4, 29, 41, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 60 In force
      8. 9 September 2026 FTA Decision FTA Decision 17/2026 — Input tax on employee expenses — Made under Art. 53(1)(c) In force
    2. 28 December 2017 Cabinet Decision CD 55/2017 — Charities that may recover input tax (list as amended to Dec 2024) — Made under it In force — amended
    3. 28 December 2017 Cabinet Decision CD 56/2017 — Zero-rated medications and medical equipment — Made under it In force
    4. 28 December 2017 Cabinet Decision CD 59/2017 — Designated Zones for VAT (with the FTA list) — Made under it In force — amended
    5. 22 May 2018 Cabinet Decision CD 26/2018 — VAT refund on exhibition and conference services — Made under it In force
    6. 22 May 2018 Cabinet Decision CD 25/2018 — VAT on gold and diamonds between registrants (repealed) — Made under it Repealed
    7. 2 January 2020 Cabinet Decision CD 1/2020 — VAT refund for Expo 2020 Dubai official participants — Made under it In force
    8. 1 September 2020 Cabinet Decision CD 9/12 O of 2020 — Temporary zero rate on COVID-19 protective equipment — Made under it Spent
    9. 16 August 2022 Cabinet Decision CD 82/2022 — Refund of input tax on building and operating mosques — Made under it In force
      1. 29 October 2022 Ministerial Decision MD 162/2022 — Deadlines for mosque input tax refund requests — Made under it In force
    10. 25 August 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 91/2023 — Reverse charge on mobile phones, computers and tablets — Made under it In force
      1. 25 October 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 262/2023 — Which parts and pieces of electronic devices fall under the reverse charge — Made under it In force
    11. 1 November 2024 FTA Decision FTA Decision 8/2024 — Correcting VAT return errors that do not change the tax due — Made under it In force
    12. 16 December 2024 Cabinet Decision CD 127/2024 — Reverse charge on gold, precious metals and precious stones — Made under it In force
    13. 12 September 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 243/2025 — E-invoicing system — Made under e-invoicing provisions In force — amended (see E-Invoicing)
    14. 4 November 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 153/2025 — Reverse charge on metal scrap between registrants — Made under it In force
    15. 8 July 2026 Directive on Tax Transactions DTT 1/2026 — VAT on judicial expert services — Made under Art. 13 In force
    16. 8 July 2026 Directive on Tax Transactions DTT 2/2026 — VAT adjustments after leaving a Tax Group — Made under it In force
    17. 14 July 2026 Directive on Tax Transactions DTT 3/2026 — Converting digital-currency consideration to AED — Made under it In force
    18. 20 July 2026 Directive on Tax Transactions DTT 5/2026 — Valuing deemed supplies of services — Made under Art. 37 In force
    19. 22 July 2026 FTA Decision FTA Decision 13/2026 — Verifying suppliers before deducting input tax — Made under it In force

Official sources

Official Arabic text (opens in a new tab) English translation (unofficial) (opens in a new tab)

Related services: VAT Services · VAT Health Check

Last verified against official sources: 26 October 2026 · اقرأ بالعربية

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General information, not tax advice. Each record is checked against the official source; where they differ, the official Arabic text prevails.