Gulf country imposes 5% VAT on goods and services

A gulf country has imposed 5%  Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services. Oman has imposed VAT on goods and services.

The new decision is followed by a Royal Decree No. 121/2020 as issued by Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said, Sultan of Oman. Omani government has also expanded the list of VAT-exempt goods from 93 to 488 basic commodities. These include vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, dates, spices, oils, fish, red meat and poultry, milk, cheese, tea, coffee, sugar, salt, and juices without added sugars.

Oman government expects that the new tax will contribute 1.5 per cent towards the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and raise around 400 million Omani riyals  per year .