POA · Company & business
Power of Attorney for VAT in the UAE
Let a representative handle your VAT filings and correspondence with the FTA.
Updated September 2026 · market data verified methodology
A power of attorney for VAT authorizes a named person to act for your company in Federal Tax Authority matters: filing the VAT registration, submitting documents, lodging returns and refund claims, and receiving the authority's decisions and correspondence. It is the instrument that lets a manager, an outsourced accounting firm or a tax practitioner deal with the FTA as your company — without handing over the decisions behind the filings.
The FTA asks for proof that a person filing for a company is entitled to do so. Alongside the licence and incorporation papers, that proof can be the articles of association, a board resolution or a POA — and when someone other than the owner handles the tax file, the POA is usually the cleanest answer. Wording decides acceptance: the scope has to name the tax functions the attorney may perform, or the document risks being read as too general.
Where it is used
Federal Tax Authority matters — VAT registration, returns, refund claims, document submissions and correspondence
Typical attorney
The company's manager, an outsourced accounting firm or a named tax practitioner
Language
Arabic before the notary; you review and approve a bilingual draft in advance
Term
Until revoked or until an expiry date written into the mandate
Who uses this POA
- Owners running the business from outside the UAE who cannot attend to the FTA themselves
- Companies delegating tax compliance to an accounting firm acting as attorney
- Groups holding several trade licences that want one representative across all their tax files
- Newly licensed entities registering for VAT through a manager or PRO rather than the owner
- Companies replacing an authorized signatory after a management change
What the attorney can do
- File the company's VAT registration with the FTA
- Submit supporting documents and sign filings within the scope granted
- Lodge periodic VAT returns where the mandate covers them
- Pursue refund claims and follow up on open submissions
- Receive the authority's decisions and correspondence on the company's behalf
Limits and practical notes
Check these before drafting — they decide whether an authority accepts your document.
- The FTA may require its own authorization form in addition to the POA — check the current requirements before relying on the notarized document alone
- The scope must name the tax functions granted — registration, filings, correspondence, document collection; a generic mandate may be read as not covering them
- The POA works alongside the company's constitutional papers: the attorney's authority should be consistent with the licence and the documents naming its signatories
- A mandate is not tax advice — positions, rates and interpretations still belong with a tax practitioner
- Requirements move as the FTA updates its portal and forms; confirm current practice at filing time
Documents to prepare
The principal (individual)
- Passport of the principal; visa page and Emirates ID if a UAE resident
- Passport, visa page and Emirates ID of the appointed attorney
- Company details exactly as they appear on the licence — name, number, jurisdiction
- The tax matters to be covered — registration, returns, refunds, correspondence — so the scope can be drafted precisely
The principal (company)
- Current trade licence of the company
- Certificate of incorporation
- Articles of association or a board resolution identifying the authorized signatory
- Existing tax registration records, where the company is already registered
POA or board resolution: proving authorization at the FTA
When a VAT registration goes in, the FTA wants to see that whoever signs for the company may do so. The accepted proofs run from the articles of association and board resolutions to a power of attorney. Constitutional papers answer the question for the manager they name; for everyone else — an external accountant, a tax practitioner, a PRO — the POA is the instrument that does it.
Keep the two layers apart when you file: the notarized POA establishes who may act for the company, while the FTA's own portal forms may still be required to register that authorization in its systems. Treat the POA as the foundation and check the filing checklist of the moment on top of it.
- Constitutional papers cover the manager they name; a POA covers everyone else
- The FTA may layer its own authorization form over the notarized mandate
- Name the tax functions in the scope — it is what makes the document work in practice
Frequently asked questions
Does the FTA accept a power of attorney instead of a board resolution?
For third-party representation, yes — the proof-of-authorization set for a VAT registration includes the articles of association, a board resolution or a POA. Constitutional papers typically cover only the manager they name, so for an outside accountant or tax practitioner the POA is the practical route.
Who should we appoint as attorney — our manager, our accountant or an external firm?
Whichever of them actually runs the tax file. Companies commonly authorize the in-house manager, appoint an external tax agent, or designate an outsourced accounting firm. What decides acceptance is not who you pick but whether the scope names the tax functions they will perform.
We are based abroad — can we still set this up?
Yes. The mandate runs from the company, and drafting and notarization can be arranged remotely through the notary's online procedure, which suits owners who cannot come to the UAE. The attorney named in the document should be the person or firm who will actually deal with the FTA.
Does the POA let the attorney advise us on tax positions?
No. The mandate covers representation — filings, correspondence, document collection and receiving decisions. Substantive tax judgement, such as how a transaction should be treated, is advisory work that stays with a tax practitioner; keep the two roles separate in your paperwork.
What happens when our manager or accounting firm changes?
Revoke the existing mandate and issue a fresh one for the new attorney, then update the authorization on the tax file so the records point at the current representative. Leaving a stale POA live is what creates filings made without valid authority.
Need this POA arranged?
Describe the task — you get a recommendation on wording, the document checklist and an itemized estimate.