RAQEEB, a whistleblower program for tax violations and evasion

The UAE’S Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has recently introduced a whistleblowing program to increase public awareness and to enhance tax compliance.

RAQEEB will enable individuals (informants) to report tax violations and evasions of a tax registered person or business, in return for a monetary reward.

Eligible information provided by the informant

The scope of information or leads reportable by RAQEEB are categorized as follows:

Suspected tax evasion: Such as filing a tax return with false information or evading registering for tax;

Suspected non-compliance with tax legislations: such as non-issuance of tax invoices, or issuing a tax invoice with incorrect amount to reduce the tax liability. or offering a lower price (exclusive of VAT) if the customer is willing to pay cash without receiving a tax invoice.

Monetary rewards

The informants will be entitled to a monetary reward if all the below conditions are met:

1. The provided information is credible, accurate, and has not been obtained previously by the FTA
2. The whistleblowing form is filled out accurately, completely, and sufficiently
3. The FTA collected tax amounts that exceed AED 50,000 as a result of the submitted information
4. The reported person/business exhausted all forms of objections and appeals.

Whistleblowing process

The informant can apply through the FTA’s website by filing an application providing his personal information and copies of his identities. Then the reported person or business information and the details of the tax violation and the related observations and evidences.

The informant must also explain how and when he became aware of the tax violation, and shall describe the relationship with the reported person or business.

Although the whistleblowing form cannot be submitted anonymously, however, the identity of the informant remains confidential and protected by the FTA,

The informant shall also be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) to ensure the protection of any confidential or sensitive information, including information on monetary rewards.

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