I bought a large capital asset — is the VAT I recovered on it fixed forever?

The Capital Assets Scheme applies when you make a single item of expenditure worth AED 5,000,000 or more (excluding VAT), with an expected useful life of 10 years for a building or 5 years for any other capital asset. The idea is that you recover input VAT in full in the first year based on your intended use of the asset — fully taxable, fully exempt, or a mixed ratio — but the scheme then requires you to recheck that percentage every year across the whole adjustment period, 10 years for buildings and 5 years for other assets, to make sure recovery still tracks actual use.

The annual adjustment is calculated with a simple formula: total input tax multiplied by the change in use percentage, divided by the adjustment period. So if the asset started at 100% taxable use and part of it later shifts to an exempt activity, you pay the FTA the difference each year — and the reverse applies too: if taxable use ends up higher than originally expected, you can recover an additional amount. The whole point is to keep VAT recovery aligned with reality across the asset's life, not frozen at day-one intentions. RASEEKH tracks this adjustment schedule year by year so you don't miss a payment or a recovery you're owed.