Government fees, service fees and VAT: how a bill is made up

A typical bill for a government transaction has three parts:

1. Government fees: set by the authority (ICP, GDRFA, MOHRE, MOFA, DHA and others) and paid to the government. They often include several items, for example the main fee, a smart-services fee or a knowledge and innovation fee. The centre does not set or change them; they change from time to time, so the amount is confirmed from the official system on the day.

2. Service fee: the centre's own charge for preparing, typing, submitting and following up your application.

3. VAT: the UAE standard VAT rate is 5%. The centre is VAT-registered, so VAT is charged on its service fee. Under the Federal Tax Authority's public clarification on disbursements and reimbursements (VATP013, read on 8 October 2026), a payment made on a customer's behalf as an agent is a disbursement outside the scope of VAT when, among other conditions, the customer receives the service and has authorised the payment, the receipt is in the customer's name, the cost is clearly additional to our own service, and the exact amount is shown separately without any mark-up; government fees are therefore shown separately on our invoice. This is a general description, not tax advice; the exact treatment of each item follows the invoice and the FTA rules.

Other points: - Fines (overstay, late renewal) are government amounts and are paid in full to the authority. - If the authority rejects an application, government fees are not always refunded; the authority decides. - Ask for the official receipt of government payments; it is part of your file.

What to do: ask us for a written quote before starting; it lists government fees, our service fee and VAT separately.