24 August 2026 · Process
How an FTA Tax Audit Works
An FTA tax audit usually begins with advance notice, at least 10 business days before the auditor attends, unless the FTA suspects tax evasion, believes notice would hinder the audit, or you obstruct the auditor's entry, in which case it can attend without warning and, in serious cases, temporarily close the premises. The audit can be conducted on-site at your premises or as a desk review from records you submit through EmaraTax, and it must normally take place during official working hours, though the Director-General can authorise an exception. The auditor reviews your VAT or corporate tax filings against the underlying invoices, ledgers, contracts and bank records, and can request copies of documents or take originals, with the seizure logged and a retention period recorded. It ends with written findings and, where discrepancies are found, a formal tax assessment and any related penalties. You have rights throughout, including to see the auditor's official identification, to be present, to receive copies of anything taken, and to be informed of the result, and the FTA generally examines a tax period within five years of its end, a window that can reach up to 15 years where tax evasion is suspected. The FTA can also combine a VAT and corporate tax review into a single engagement rather than run two separate audits, so being prepared across both taxes at once is usually the safer assumption when a notice arrives.
Exiloz Management & Tax Consultant · Dubai-based FTA-focused advisory · VAT, corporate tax & accounting
What an audit looks like
Most audits follow the same predictable sequence, and knowing it in advance is what removes the panic when a notice actually arrives. The FTA issues formal notice of the audit scope and period, requests specific records and explanations, and then tests your filings against the evidence you provide. Nothing about the sequence is designed to trap you; it is a structured way of confirming that what you filed matches what actually happened in the business, and most of the stages simply give you an opportunity to demonstrate that before any conclusion is drawn. The review closes with written findings, and only where the auditor identifies a discrepancy does it escalate into a formal tax assessment, at which point a separate and equally structured challenge process becomes available to you.
- Notice of audit, at least 10 business days ahead in ordinary cases, setting out the scope, tax type and period covered.
- A formal request for records, explanations, or both, sent through EmaraTax or in writing.
- Review of your filings against tax invoices, the general ledger, bank statements and contracts.
- Written findings once the review closes, whether or not any adjustment is proposed.
- A formal tax assessment and any related penalties only where the review finds a discrepancy.
Rights and obligations
An audit is not one-sided. The Tax Procedures Law gives the FTA broad powers to inspect your records, but it also gives you clear protections you can rely on at every stage. Cooperation is a legal obligation, not a courtesy, so ignoring requests or being deliberately unhelpful carries its own risk, and obstructing an auditor's entry is itself one of the grounds that can remove the standard notice requirement. Within that duty to cooperate, you are entitled to know who is auditing you, what they are looking at, and what they found, and to have any originals taken from you logged and returned within a defined retention period rather than held indefinitely.
- You can be present while the audit is conducted and route questions through your appointed contact.
- You can ask auditors to show their official identification card before granting access to your premises.
- You must provide the records requested and reasonable assistance, including access to relevant staff.
- You are entitled to copies of any documents or originals the auditors take away for review.
- You can challenge an unfavourable assessment through reconsideration, then the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee.
Desk review or on-site visit
The FTA decides whether to run the audit on-site or as a desk review based on the case, and each has a different rhythm. A desk review runs entirely on paper: the FTA requests records and written explanations, you submit them, and any follow-up queries arrive in writing, so the file you send effectively is the audit. An on-site visit brings FTA officials to your premises to examine records and ask questions directly, and while your rights do not change, preparation matters more because there is less room to add context after the fact. Audits are normally confined to official working hours in either format, though the Director-General can approve an exception where the case requires it, and either format can shift into the other if the scope changes as the review progresses.
- Desk reviews reward complete, self-contained submissions, since there is no meeting to explain a gap later.
- On-site visits normally follow the same 10-business-day notice rule as any other audit.
- Either format can be escalated, narrowed, or converted into the other as the auditor works through the records.
- Briefing your team on who answers what, and who stays silent, matters most for an on-site visit.
How far back an audit can reach
Audits are not limited to your most recent return. The FTA can generally examine any tax period within five years of its end, so an old filing is not automatically out of reach. That window can extend by up to a further year where a voluntary disclosure is filed late in the fifth year, and it can stretch considerably further, up to 15 years, where the FTA suspects tax evasion or where a business failed to register at all. Separately, tax and penalties that have already been assessed or notified to you do not expire simply because time passes, so an old, unresolved assessment does not become uncollectable on its own. This is why record retention has to outlast the filing cycle by years, not months.
- The general rule is a five-year audit window from the end of the tax period.
- A late voluntary disclosure filed in the final year of that window can extend it by up to one further year.
- Suspected evasion, or a failure to register, can extend the lookback window to as much as 15 years.
- Retention policy should be built around the longest window that could plausibly apply to you, not the general rule alone.
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Frequently Asked Questions
For businesses that have received an audit notice, or want to know what to expect before one arrives.
How much notice does the FTA give?
At least 10 business days before the audit is conducted in ordinary cases, sent through EmaraTax or in writing. The main exceptions are where the FTA suspects tax evasion, believes advance notice would hinder the audit, or the taxpayer obstructs the auditor's entry, in which case it can attend without any prior notice and, with the Director-General's approval, temporarily close the premises.
Is an audit done at my office?
It can be either an on-site visit to your premises or a desk review conducted entirely from the records you submit. The FTA decides the format based on the case, and either can draw on the same set of records.
What happens at the end?
The auditor issues written findings. Where no discrepancy is found, that is effectively the end of the matter; where adjustments are needed, you receive a formal tax assessment along with any related penalties.
Can Exiloz represent us during an audit?
Yes. We act as your appointed point of contact, prepare and check every response before it goes to the FTA, and manage the process end to end so you stay compliant without the day-to-day burden falling on your team.
Can the FTA turn up without any notice?
Yes, but only in specific circumstances: where it suspects tax evasion, believes notice would hinder the audit, or you obstruct the auditor's entry. In every other case the law requires advance notice, normally at least 10 business days, before an audit is conducted.
How far back can an FTA audit go?
Generally up to five years from the end of the relevant tax period. A late voluntary disclosure filed in that fifth year can extend it by a further year, and suspected evasion or a failure to register can extend it to as much as 15 years.
Are there rules on when an audit can take place?
Yes. An audit should normally be conducted during official working hours, with an exception only where the Director-General approves it, and you are entitled to see the auditor's official identification card before granting access.
Can I get copies of documents the auditor takes?
Yes. You are entitled to copies of any original documents removed for review, the removal itself should be logged with a defined retention period, and it is worth keeping your own log of everything handed over.
Can the FTA audit VAT and corporate tax at the same time?
Yes. Nothing prevents the FTA from reviewing your VAT and corporate tax positions within the same engagement, particularly since both draw on much of the same underlying data, including invoices, the general ledger and bank records. Treat a notice as potentially covering either tax unless the scope explicitly says otherwise, and keep both sets of filings reconciled to each other so a combined review does not surface an inconsistency that a single-tax audit would have missed.
Face your audit with a plan
Exiloz manages the FTA audit process end to end, from the first notice through to findings, so you respond correctly, on time, and with a single point of contact handling the FTA.