Ministerial Decision Ministerial Decision No. 162 of 2022 Ministry of Finance

MD 162/2022 — Deadlines for mosque input tax refund requests

Ministerial Decision No. 162 of 2022 on the Determination of Timelines and Frequency of Submission of Refund Requests for Input Tax Incurred on the Construction and Operation of Mosques

In force Issued 29 October 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 وزاري رقم (162) لسنة 2022 — تحديد مهل ودورية تقديم طلبات استرداد ضريبة المدخلات المتكبدة عن بناء المساجد وتشغيلها
Document type
Ministerial Decision
Number
162
Issued by
Ministry of Finance
Administered by
Federal Tax Authority
Issued
29 October 2022
In force from
29 October 2022
Applies to
Donors and Operators claiming refunds under Cabinet Decision No. 82 of 2022.
Current position
In force. No official text amending or repealing it was found. The catch-up windows for Mosques operated in 2018–2022 closed in 2023; the rules for 2023 onwards continue to apply.
Topics
VAT · Refunds
Official text
Official Arabic text · English translation (unofficial)

Factual summary

Sets when the FTA accepts input tax refund requests for Mosques under Cabinet Decision No. 82 of 2022. Construction claims for Mosques operating in 2018–2022 had fixed windows between November 2022 and December 2023, and later Mosques must claim within 12 months of the Operation Commencement Certificate. Operation claims are filed once a year, from January to April of the following year, and late applications are not accepted.

What it means in practice Professional insight

Who: Mosque donors and operators. What to check: the certificate date against the 12-month construction window, the January–April annual window for operating costs, and that no year was missed, since late applications are rejected.

Key provisions

  • Art. 1 Construction refunds, by operation date on the Mosque Operation Commencement Certificate: 1 January 2018 – 31 December 2018, applications November 2022 – January 2023; 2019, February 2023 – March 2023; 2020, March 2023 – April 2023; 2021, April 2023 – May 2023; 2022, June 2023 – December 2023; from 1 January 2023 onwards, within 12 months of the issuance of the certificate by the Competent Authority.
  • Art. 2 Operation refunds: Mosques operated by the applicant before 1 January 2022 apply for the years 2018 – 2022 from April 2023 to September 2023; those operated from 1 January 2022 onwards apply for 2022 from October 2023 to December 2023; for all Mosques, from 2023 onwards, applications are made from January to April of the following year.
  • Art. 3 Applications submitted outside the timeframes in Articles 1 and 2 will not be accepted.
  • Art. 4 Implemented as of 29 October 2022.

What changed

  1. 29 October 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.