How is VAT handled on delivery app commissions like Talabat or Careem?

When a customer orders from your restaurant through a delivery app, there are two separate transactions for VAT purposes: the restaurant's sale to the customer (taxed at 5% on the full order value), and the app's own commission charged to the restaurant (also taxed at 5%, but on the commission amount only). The common mistake is the restaurant recording the net amount it receives from the app after commission as revenue, instead of recording the full order value as revenue and the commission as a separate expense — which understates reported revenue and complicates reconciliation at filing time.

You also need to confirm the commission invoice you receive from the app is itself a valid tax invoice you can recover input VAT on, not just a statement. At RASEEKH, we help restaurants and shops working with delivery apps build a correct recording system that separates gross sales from platform commission, so the tax return reflects the real picture, not just the net.