VAT Registration of Sole Establishments

A sole establishment is a legal form of business which is 100% owned by a natural person. It does not have an identity independent to its owner and will be considered to be the same person as its owner. A natural person can obtain separate sole establishment license for different line of businesses owned by him.

It should be noted that for VAT purposes, a One-Person Company LLC or other similar entities are not considered sole establishments.

Question: If a natural person owns more than one sole establishment, should it obtain separate VAT registration for each of its license?

Clarification Via: VATP026

As a sole establishment does not have an identity independent to its owner, and that each person can obtain only one VAT registration, it is clarified that a person should include all its sole establishments under one VAT registration. The registration should be obtained in the name of the person that owns the sole establishment(s). It is also to be noted that, the value of supplies made by all of the sole establishments must be aggregated to assess whether the VAT registration threshold has been exceeded.

However, if a natural person owning multiple sole establishments wishes to obtain the VAT registration in the name of one of its sole establishments instead, the person may apply to the FTA accordingly.

Existing VAT registrations

The FTA notes that if previously it has granted separate VAT registration for different sole establishments, it will review such VAT registrations on a case to case basis and inform the registrants for corrective steps as applicable.

No action is required to amend the existing VAT registrations until specifically directed by the FTA.

Summary

A Natural Person owning more than one sole establishment should obtain only one VAT registration for all its sole establishment and is not permitted to register each sole establishment separately.