The new UAE excise tax law comes into effect today (October 1, 2017), with the price of soft drinks, cigarettes and energy drinks seeing a 50% hike across the emirates.
Soft drink prices will increase from AED1.50 to AED2.25 while the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes will double from AED8 to AED16. Sister publication Arabian Business reports that over the weekend shops across the emirates were reportedly running low on the products, as residents sought to stock up ahead of the change.
This is the first in a series of taxation reforms the UAE will undertake with the implementation of VAT from January 1, 2018, while the other GCC states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar are expected to follow suit during the year.
GCC countries to implement VAT in January 2018 https://t.co/cMbjnd9LQj pic.twitter.com/Ipuan9GeJu
— Hotelier Middle East (@HotelierME) February 13, 2017
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