Module 6 · Advanced · 7 min read

Registration thresholds and your TRN

You will be able to: State the UAE mandatory and voluntary VAT registration thresholds; Explain what a TRN is and why it matters on documents; Find where Zeyto stores your own TRN and your customers' and suppliers' TRNs.

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Not every business charges VAT. Only a business registered with the FTA (a taxable person) may charge VAT and recover input VAT. Registration depends on the value of your taxable supplies, which is why you need to track turnover from the first month.

The thresholds

Per the FTA's page on registering for VAT, the thresholds are measured on taxable supplies and imports over the previous 12 months, or the value you expect in the next 30 days:

The Company Profile screen showing the legal name, the 15-digit Tax Registration Number and the registered address.

Settings, Company Profile: your TRN is printed on every tax invoice.

Settings, Company Profile: your TRN is printed on every tax invoice.
TypeThresholdNotes
Mandatory registrationAED 375,000Non-resident businesses that make taxable supplies in the UAE must register even below this figure, unless a UAE party accounts for the VAT
Voluntary registrationAED 187,500Measured on taxable supplies, imports or taxable expenses
  • Once you must register, the FTA's guidance says to apply within 30 days. Applications are made through the FTA's online portal (EmaraTax).
  • Registering late can attract an administrative penalty. Check the current amount on the FTA website rather than trusting a figure copied from a blog.
  • A business below the mandatory threshold is not forced to register, but it also cannot charge VAT or recover input VAT until it does.
Which side of the line?A trading company's taxable sales for the last 12 months total AED 410,000. That is above AED 375,000, so registration is mandatory and the application is due within 30 days of becoming liable. A freelancer with AED 200,000 of taxable sales is below the mandatory threshold but above AED 187,500, so voluntary registration is possible.

What a TRN is

When the FTA registers you it issues a Tax Registration Number (TRN), which is 15 digits. The TRN identifies you on every tax invoice. A customer who is registered needs your TRN to support their input VAT claim, and you need your suppliers' TRNs for the same reason. The FTA's tax invoice guide calls a valid tax invoice the primary documentary evidence for recovering VAT.

TRNs in Zeyto

  • Your own TRN: Settings, Company Profile, in the Legal Identity card. Zeyto accepts exactly 15 digits. It prints on tax invoices and POS receipts and in the header of exported sheets. If you are not VAT-registered, leave it empty.
  • Customers: Sales, Customers. The TRN field refuses anything that is not 15 digits, and Zeyto refuses a TRN already used by another customer. The Tax Treatment field is only a label; it does not change the VAT on documents.
  • Suppliers: Purchase, Suppliers has the same kind of TRN field.
  • Settings, Posting Controls has an optional rule, Customer TRN required when VAT is charged. When ticked, a sales invoice that charges VAT is refused if the customer has no TRN (an invoice with no customer is refused too). Zero-rated and exempt invoices are not refused.
The Customers list with the TRN column showing the Tax Registration Number of each customer.

Each customer and supplier carries its own TRN on the master.

Each customer and supplier carries its own TRN on the master.
Watch outA TRN typed with a mistake still has 15 digits and passes Zeyto's check. The check cannot tell you whether the number belongs to the party. Copy the TRN from the party's own tax invoice or registration certificate.
TipZeyto's Company Profile also has a VAT Return Identity card (taxable person name and address, tax agency and TAN, tax agent and TAAN). These appear in the header of the return worksheet and its export. If a field is blank, Zeyto uses your company name and address.

Rules change; always check the FTA website.

Try it in the demo

  1. Open Settings, Company Profile and find the TRN field in Legal Identity. Do not save changes in the shared demo.
  2. Open Sales, Customers, click any customer and find the TRN and Tax Treatment fields.
  3. Open Settings, Posting Controls and read the Mandatory fields section. What happens to a VAT invoice if the customer has no TRN?
  4. Open the Business Overview or the VAT Box Summary by Party report later in the module to see how missing TRNs show up.
Open the live demo

Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.

Key takeaways
  • Mandatory registration is AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and imports; voluntary is AED 187,500 (FTA).
  • A TRN is 15 digits and identifies a taxable person on tax invoices.
  • Zeyto stores your TRN in Company Profile and each party's TRN on its record.
  • Zeyto checks the length of a TRN, not whether it belongs to the party.

Check yourself

5 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.

1. Per the FTA, what is the mandatory VAT registration threshold?

2. A UAE Tax Registration Number (TRN) has 15 digits.

3. Which amount is the FTA's voluntary registration threshold?

4. A trading company's taxable supplies over the last 12 months were AED 410,000. What applies?

5. Where can you record a TRN in Zeyto?

Select all that apply.

Previous: How UAE VAT worksNext: Tax invoices, simplified invoices and credit notes

Practice questions for this module · Printable study sheet