How to complete the FTA Decision 13 checklist

Updated 19 October 2026 (first published 5 October 2026). Official sources checked: 15 October 2026. About 6 min read.

Need the checklist itself? Get the free one-page FTA Decision 13 supplier and supply verification checklist (A4 PDF). This guide explains how to fill it in. For what each article requires, read the FTA Decision 13 guide.

In brief

• Fill in the checklist once per supplier for the supplier checks (sections B and C), and for every supply for the supply checks (section D).
• One person prepares it and a second person approves it. The Decision requires a documented policy naming who implements, reviews and supervises the checks (Art. 5(4)). The preparer/approver split is our recommendation for meeting that requirement.
• Attach or reference evidence for every ticked item, with its source and date. A tick without evidence does not show the check was done (Art. 5(3)).
• Finish with a human sign-off and a re-verification date: 12 months after the last check, for recurrent dealings (Art. 5(1)).

Before you start

1. Name the roles. The preparer gathers evidence and ticks items. The approver reviews it and signs. Write both names, and the policy they act under, at the top of the checklist.
2. Pull the supplier's 12-month totals, both backward (supplies received in the previous 12 months) and forward (expected over the next 12). You need them for the AED 100,000 and AED 375,000 tests. The Decision says "excluding VAT" only for the AED 10,000 test; it does not specify the basis for the two totals. Pick one basis with your tax adviser and write it on the checklist.
3. Check the last verification date on the supplier record. If the supplier was verified within the previous 12 months and nothing material has changed, sections B and C may not need re-running for this supply (Art. 5(1)). Section D still applies. If the supplier has newly crossed AED 375,000, consider completing section C now; the Decision does not specify when within the 12 months it must be done.

Completion rules

• Use N/A with a one-line reason rather than leaving an item blank.
• Link or identify the evidence. Do not paste unnecessary identity data into the checklist; store an ID copy once, on the supplier record.
• A possible match, a missing result or a discrepancy needs review. It is never an automatic pass or fail.
• Any exception to your own policy needs a named approver and an expiry date.
• Set a re-verification reminder, plus event-driven triggers: new address, new key contacts, new bank details.

Section by section

A Scope and exception

Confirm you are a Taxable Person deducting input tax on a supply you received. If the consideration is under AED 10,000 excluding VAT, and the supplier's 12-month total stays at or under AED 100,000 (looking back and forward), the exception in Art. 6 is available. Record the figures you used, so a later reviewer can see why it applied.

B Supplier checks

Run these on first dealing, or where the supplier has not been verified in the previous 12 months (Art. 5(1)).

• Identity: note which official database you used, or attach the certificate of incorporation. Confirm that the name, address and representative match. Reference the ID of the authorised representative rather than re-attaching it.
• Place of business: record the method (the "appropriate electronic means", or a field visit) and why it fits the supplier's activities. The Decision does not list which electronic means count, so write down what you relied on.
• Risk indicators: count address changes and key-employee changes over 12 months. "More than twice" means a third change triggers the indicator. If any indicator applies, the preparer drafts a clear, justified explanation and the approver checks that it does not contradict the evidence (Art. 3(3)).

C Higher-value supplier (over AED 375,000)

Complete this section only where the 12-month total exceeds, or is expected to exceed, AED 375,000 (Art. 3(4)).

• Bank confirmation: a written confirmation from an authorised UAE bank that the supplier has an account, without relevant reservations or conditions (Art. 3(4)(a)). It does not have to be addressed to you. An IBAN check is useful, but it is a different document; keep both.
• Clients' recommendations, where available (Art. 3(4)): note what you obtained. If none were available, say so rather than leaving the item blank.
• Public reviews and media (Art. 3(4)(b)): list the dated sources you reviewed, and state whether they are consistent with the supplier's business, with no indicators of suspected tax evasion.

D Each supply

This section is completed for every supply, usually by AP with the requester (Art. 4, Art. 5(2)). Record the commercial reason, and check the following:

• the payment method and terms;
• any third-party payer or payee, or any account outside the supplier's country of incorporation;
• whether payment was electronic. Cash needs a documented reason, must stay within "the thresholds specified in the applicable Tax legislation" and must be easy to verify. The Decision does not specify which provision sets those thresholds, so confirm it with your tax adviser;
• price or margin against the market;
• whether the supply fits the supplier's licensed activities;
• goods origin and ownership;
• any intermediary role.

E Records and policy

File the completed checklist with its evidence where your policy says required documents are kept (Art. 5(3)–(4)). Make sure your policy names who implements, reviews and supervises the checks. Our vendor onboarding policy template is a starting point.

Final approval record

The checklist supports the decision; the approver makes it. Whether input tax is recoverable is a tax judgement. Neither the checklist nor Vendoreye decides it.

Common mistakes

• Ticking section C without checking the forward-looking ("expected to exceed") 12-month total.
• Treating a single risk indicator as an automatic rejection, or ignoring it. The Decision asks for a justified explanation.
• Losing track of each supplier's 12-month clock, so section B is either re-run on every invoice (wasted effort) or missed on recurrent dealings, while section D, which applies every time, gets skipped.
• Attaching ID copies to every invoice instead of referencing the supplier record.

FAQs

Do we complete the whole checklist for every invoice?

No. Section D applies to every supply. Sections B and C apply on first dealing, and again once the supplier has not been verified for 12 months (Art. 5(1)).

Who should sign the checklist?

The Decision requires a documented policy naming who implements, reviews and supervises the checks (Art. 5(4)). It does not name roles. We recommend a preparer and a separate approver.

What if clients' recommendations aren't available?

Art. 3(4) asks for them "where available". Record that none were available and what you checked instead, such as public reviews and media.

Continue the workflow in Vendoreye

Use the vendor verification workflow to organise evidence, route accountable review and keep the decision record across the supplier lifecycle.

References (official sources, checked 15 Oct 2026)

1. FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026 (FTA page)
2. FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026, English PDF (unofficial translation)
3. FTA Decision No. 13 of 2026, Arabic text

Related reading

• FTA Decision 13 checklist (free A4 template)
• FTA Decision 13 supplier verification guide
• FTA Decision 13: 90-day implementation plan
• Authorised signatory checks in UAE vendor onboarding
• Vendor renewal and offboarding checklist