Zero rated supplies UAE: what qualifies and the evidence you need

You ask in plain English, the AI does the bookkeeping work, and you or your accountant approve the result.

• You ask: “Show me zero-rated export invoices from last quarter that have no shipping document attached.”
• The AI agent: HelloBooks filters invoices coded as zero-rated exports, checks each for attachments such as bills of lading or airway bills, and lists the ones missing evidence with the days elapsed since the invoice date.
• You review: Your team chases the missing documents and decides, with your accountant, whether any sale should be re-treated at 5% if the export did not happen in time.

Article 45 of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 sets out 14 categories. For most businesses the relevant ones are exports of goods and services outside the GCC implementing states, international transport of passengers and goods and related services, supplies of investment precious metals, the first supply of qualifying residential buildings within three years of completion, crude oil and natural gas, and certain education and healthcare services.

• Exports of goods and services to outside the implementing states
• International passenger and freight transport
• Investment precious metals
• First supply of a new residential building within three years of completion
• Qualifying education and healthcare services

Article 30(1)(a) of the Executive Regulation requires goods to be exported within 90 days of the date of supply for a direct export to be zero-rated. If that does not happen, Article 30(9) charges tax at the rate that would otherwise have applied. A Jebel Ali trader invoicing a Kenyan buyer AED 180,000 on 1 May needs the goods to leave the UAE by the end of July, with customs and shipping documents kept, or AED 9,000 of VAT becomes due.

Zero-rating in these sectors depends on who supplies the service. Article 40(1)(b) of the Executive Regulation requires the education supplier to be an institution recognised by the relevant education authority. Article 41(2)(a) requires healthcare services to be supplied by a provider licensed by the Ministry of Health and Prevention or another competent authority. A private nursery in Ras Al Khaimah and a cosmetic clinic in Dubai may sit on opposite sides of these lines, so check the specific service, not just the sector.

The FTA publishes sector guides, including an education sector guide updated in 2026, on its guides and public clarifications page.

Every zero-rated line in HelloBooks can carry its evidence as an attachment, and the AI agent reads shipping documents and customs declarations in Arabic and English when they are uploaded. A dashboard of export invoices with days since supply lets you see which ones are close to the 90-day limit. The VAT return figures for zero-rated sales come straight from those tagged lines, ready for your accountant's review.