I buy digital subscriptions and services from abroad — does UAE VAT apply?

When a UAE VAT-registered company buys a digital service (a software subscription, online ads, or server hosting) from a non-resident supplier with no UAE registration, that service is generally treated as "imported" — and it's the purchasing company, not the foreign supplier, that's responsible for calculating VAT under the reverse-charge mechanism, remitting it to the authority, and reclaiming it as input tax on the same return where the use qualifies for recovery.

A common mistake is assuming "foreign supplier means no tax at all," so the transaction never gets recorded in the return — which shows up as a gap in an FTA review even when the net tax effect was zero. RASEEKH makes sure every foreign-supplier invoice is treated correctly in your books from the start.