Fees paid for private clarification of tax will be refunded in certain cases if the clarification is not issued

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) declared that, as of August 1, fees paid for "private clarification" of taxes would be reimbursed in some circumstances if the clarification is not granted. 

Companies may file a request for "private clarification" in order to obtain additional information on one or more FTA taxes. From June 1, 2023, the companies were required to pay for this service.

The entire fee will be reimbursed if the request concerned one or more taxes and no clarification was provided. A portion of the price will be reimbursed if the explanation was provided for only one tax, even though the request was related to many taxes.

The difference between the fee for more than one tax and the fee for one tax will be used to determine the amount that will be returned.

Situations where fees are reimbursed:

Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 5 of 2024, published on July 19, states that the following situations will result in no clarification and a refund of the fee: 

In the event that the applicant withdraws their request for private explanation within two business days of the request's submission date 

When someone who is not registered for corporate tax submits a private clarification and the topic of the clarification has nothing to do with a tax registration inquiry 

When the request is made and the applicant is being audited by the Authority for taxes

In cases where the request for private clarification relates to the protocols that ought to be followed following an Authority decision. 

In cases where the Authority is handling a duplicate private clarification request from the same applicant that has the same subject and supporting documentation. 

In the event that the subject matter of the private clarification request is one that the Authority and the Ministry of Finance are working together to alter the tax laws that govern it.