15 July 2026 · Representative Member
The VAT Tax Group Representative Member
In a UAE VAT group, a nominated representative member deals with the Federal Tax Authority on behalf of every member: it holds the group's single TRN, files the one consolidated VAT return, and submits registrations and amendments through EmaraTax. Every member's supply to a party outside the group is treated as made by the representative member, and supplies between members are generally disregarded. The tax group itself is registered under Article 14 of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017; the representative member's role and the members' joint and several liability are governed by the Executive Regulation and the FTA's Tax Groups VAT Guide (VATGGR101). Because your external supplies legally sit inside the group's return while you are a member, a later adjustment after you leave has no return of yours to sit in — until FTA Directive No. 2 of 2026 gives it one, by directing it to the departed member's own return.
Exiloz Management & Tax Consultant · Dubai-based FTA-focused advisory · VAT, corporate tax & accounting
One member speaks for all
The representative member is the group's single point of contact with the FTA. It holds the group's TRN, files one consolidated return covering every member's activity, and lodges all amendments — adding a member, removing a member or dissolving the group — through EmaraTax. Members' external supplies are treated as the representative member's for VAT.
- Holds the group's single TRN.
- Files the consolidated VAT return for all members.
- Submits registrations and amendments via EmaraTax.
- External supplies are treated as its own.
- Represents the group in FTA correspondence.
- Group registered under Article 14; role per VATGGR101.
Joint and several, while you are in
During membership, group members are generally jointly and severally liable for the group's VAT — the representative member accounts for it, but the FTA can look to any member. That shared liability, and the single-return structure, are why the point at which you leave matters so much for who carries a later adjustment.
- Members share liability for the group's VAT.
- The representative member accounts for the tax.
- The FTA can pursue any member while grouped.
- Intra-group supplies are disregarded.
- Your external sales are the group's on paper.
- Leaving changes who answers for later changes.
Why the hand-off needs a rule
When you leave, you detach from the consolidated return and typically take up your own registration. Transactions you made still sit in the group's filed returns, but you now file separately. Directive No. 2 of 2026 completes the hand-off: post-exit adjustments on those transactions move to your own return rather than staying stranded with the representative member.
- Exit detaches you from the group return.
- You take up or revert to your own TRN.
- Past supplies remain in the group's filed returns.
- Future adjustments on them fall to you.
- The representative member no longer carries them.
- Record the exact exit date for the cut-off.
Related guides
Frequently Asked Questions
For the representative-member role.
Who holds the TRN in a VAT group?
The representative member holds the single TRN for the whole group and uses it to file the consolidated return.
Who files the group's VAT return?
The representative member files one consolidated return covering all members' taxable activity for each tax period.
Are supplies between members taxed?
No. Supplies within the group are generally disregarded for VAT; only supplies to and from parties outside the group count.
Are members liable for the group's VAT?
Generally yes — members are jointly and severally liable while grouped, even though the representative member accounts for the tax.
Can Exiloz act on VAT group matters?
Yes. We advise representative members and exiting members, handle EmaraTax amendments, and set clean exit cut-offs.
Managing a VAT group?
Exiloz supports representative members and departing members.