Private university education is not exempt from “added value”

The Federal Tax Authority stated that academic education fees in private universities are subject to value -added tax for basic 5%, while the application of the tax on study fees in private universities has brought about confusion among the parents of students who confirmed their lack of knowledge that the tax includes tuition fees, adding that what they read in The law understood that the tax includes the services provided by the educational institution for students, not among them the tuition fees.

In detail. The university and its curriculum are approved by the organizer of higher education affairs in the emirate or in the state in general.

While the guardian of a student at the American University of Dubai, who preferred not to be named, told «Emirates Today» that the university received 5% of it on the total tuition fees for the second semester of the current academic year, explaining that “the total value of the fees is 42 thousand And 750 dirhams, and after adding the tax rate, the amount became 45 thousand and 202 dirhams, “noting that” this is contrary to the added tax law, which exempt tuition fees from the 5%. “

He continued that «the Federal Tax Authority obliges all the tax -subject bodies to write the tax number on the bill, but the delivery delivery receipt for the university does not hold this number, and the matter is limited to specifying an amount of 2152 dirhams for value -added tax by 5% of the total value of the fees», pointing out. Even that “not writing the number on the payment receipt indicates that the amount paid will be included in the university’s account, and will not be transferred to the commission.”

While the guardian of a university student demanded that the authority obligate all universities to write the services that require a tax on its fees, and put it in a prominent place at the account office in each university, so that the students and their families see them when paying their financial obligations, so that it does not leave the universities to add any amounts to the academic expenses Citing the approval of the value -added tax.

Meanwhile, the student’s guardian Youssef Abdullah, who is studying at a private university in Dubai, said: “We have read in the newspapers since the beginning of the announcement of the application of value -added tax that the education tax is zero%, and we did not see the tax law, but when we reviewed the university’s account management to pay the study fees for the semester The second academic, the account employee surprised us that study fees at the private university are not exempt from the tax, which caused confusion in our accounts.

He added that the confusion in this regard is caused by insufficient awareness of the details of the services that are subject to tax, as the university was supposed to send messages to the parents of students, whether through the “WhatsApp” or email, to alert them that the study fees are subject to value -added tax .

The guardian of the student, Fatima Saif, accused the universities of neglecting to notify the parents of her students, including the value -added tax, asking the universities to send each guardian the value of the fees and educational services after the validity of the application of the added value, and the determination of any of them is subject to the tax, as the lack of Doing this confuses the student’s guardian when paying the fees.

For its part, the Director of Accounts at the American University of Dubai, Maya Amani, confirmed that the value -added tax includes university fees in private universities, according to Clause (4) of Article (40) of the Tax Law, adding that the university started collecting 5% in addition to Study fees in the second semester of the current academic year.

The financial director at Al -Falah University, Jihad Al -Soudi, said that it does not necessarily include the delivery delivery receipt that the student receives a tax number, but writing this number is on the bill only, explaining that the student pays the class fee with the value of the 5% of the tax, and after The student settles on the subjects that he wishes to study in this semester, the fees are accurately calculated, and with the calculation of the tax rate, it is delivered to the final amount on which the tax number is written.

Al -Soudi added: «Some students pay the study fees for the whole semester, then demand the reduction of the number of subjects that he will study, or increase, which affects the tuition fees that he paid by the increase or deduction, and then the amount required of the student is not clearly evident until he settles on the number The materials that he will study, and then the university can deliver it an invoice with the amount required of it.

While the Vice President of Dubai University for Administrative Affairs, Nasser Al -Marqab, stated that the value -added tax in private universities in which the government contributes 50% or more, does not include tuition fees, but rather the services provided by the university to students, including certification and issuance of certificates, subjects, and issuance Cards, loss allowances, and other services that are not included in the study fees.

He added that «Dubai University, which is an educational institution in which the Dubai Chamber contributes, submitted to the authority to obtain the tax number, and as soon as we obtained the number, the tax will be approved on our services provided to our students, and it is expected that we will receive the authority’s response in this regard next week with the return of students to study in The second semester of the current academic year, “stressing that the tax is calculated on the fees for each service providing for the student, and not on the total services provided.