The VAT difference between manpower supply and visa facilitation — why it matters

If your company supplies staff to another entity and remains responsible for them (salary, benefits, supervision), that's classified as manpower supply, and VAT is charged on the full amount you receive — even salary passed straight to the employee counts toward the tax base. But if your role is purely administrative (facilitating a visa for an employee who already belongs to the same corporate group they work for, with your firm bearing no employment obligation toward them), that's visa facilitation, and VAT applies only to the facilitation fee itself (medical tests, Emirates ID issuance) — not the salary and benefits.

Mixing the two up is the most common mistake we see at staffing firms, because the distinction isn't just naming — specific conditions (same corporate group, your core business not being manpower supply, and bearing no employment obligation toward the worker) all have to hold together to qualify for the cheaper classification. At RASEEKH, we review your staffing contracts and pin down the correct classification for each case before an incorrectly issued invoice exposes you to a later tax claim.