Excise Systems Setup Service

Systems carry the monthly load: set them up for excise once, correctly.

The engagement typically starts with a diagnostic — registration status, product classifications, RSP and banding evidence, return history, record strength — scored into a remediation plan. From there the work divides into one-off projects (registration, classification opinions, disclosures, refund claims) and retained compliance (monthly returns, RSP maintenance, FTA correspondence).

Every deliverable is built for the 2026 rulebook: Cabinet Decision No. 197 of 2025's five categories, per-litre banding, the halving rule, two-stage rounding and the current penalty regime.

1. Scope and quote. We map your activities, products and volumes, then quote a fixed or retainer fee tailored to the business — never a guess, never a surprise.

2. Diagnostic. A structured review of where you stand against every excise duty, with findings ranked by risk and cost.

3. Remediation. Registration fixes, reclassifications, RSP declarations, lab reports, disclosures — executed in risk order.

4. Steady state. Monthly filing, deadline ownership, record discipline and change monitoring, so compliance stays clean.

Excise punishes generalism: the AED 10,000 late-registration penalty, the 14% late-payment interest, the top-band default for missing lab reports and the FTA's market-average RSP substitution are all traps a VAT generalist walks into. Twelve monthly deadlines a year leave no room for learning on the job.

The maths usually favours help: one avoided penalty or one successful refund claim funds years of retained compliance. And in disputes — audits, assessments, TDRC appeals — professional representation changes outcomes.

Scoping starts with four questions: what do you import, produce or stockpile? In what volumes? What is your current registration and filing position? And what has the FTA already said to you? The answers determine whether you need a one-off project, a remediation programme or a monthly retainer.

One-off projects — registrations, classification opinions, refund claims, disclosures — are fixed-fee against a defined deliverable. Monthly compliance is a retainer scaled to SKU count and transaction volume. Remediation programmes are phased: triage and quantify first, then fix in risk order, so you see the exposure number before committing to the full programme.

We never publish fixed fees because the scope genuinely varies — a single-SKU importer and a multi-category manufacturer are different engagements. Contact us for a quote tailored to your business.

Timelines are honest: diagnostics start within days of engagement and urgent matters — shipments held at customs, deadlines today, audit notices — are triaged first. Registration projects run on the FTA's application queue, which we manage with complete first-time submissions and fast query responses. Refund claims and disputes run on evidence and procedure; we tell you the realistic range at the outset rather than promising dates the FTA does not keep.

Every engagement ends with a handover file — registrations, classifications, RSP declarations, lab reports, return history and the compliance calendar — so your team can run the routine and we stay available for the exceptions. Good excise support makes itself progressively less necessary for the day-to-day and indispensable for the moments that matter.

Have ready: your trade licence, a product list with volumes, whether you import/produce/stockpile, your current registration status, and any FTA correspondence or penalties received. The more complete the picture, the faster the diagnostic — and the more accurate the quote.

Tax rules change: confirm the current position on tax.gov.ae before you file, pay or rely on any figure on this page.