The point at which excise tax is due to be accounted for will be different depending on whether the goods are imported into Qatar, produced in Qatar, or released from an Excise Tax warehouse.

1. General Principle

Taxable persons must file their Excise Tax returns on a quarterly basis. The due date for filing the Excise Tax return and paying the Excise Tax due is no later than the 15^th day of the calendar month following the end of the quarterly tax period.

The taxable person should self-declare the tax due on the excise goods based on the Excise Tax value.

The value of the excise goods on which Excise Tax is calculated shall be the higher of:

• The standard price as listed in a schedule issued by the GTA on its website; or
• The retail sales price that is declared by the producer or importer or the tax warehouse keeper of such excise goods, deducting any Excise Tax already included in that price.

In order to deduct the Excise Tax included in the retail sales price (if any), the following should be applied:

• For excise goods subject to 50% – to multiply by 66.67%
• For excise goods subject to 100% – to multiply by 50%

The excise value includes any other taxes or duties charged on those goods, except for VAT after its introduction in the State of Qatar.

2. Importers

Importers of excise goods will be required to pay the Excise Tax due upon import. The Excise Tax due shall be included on the importer’s import declaration and the importer will be liable to pay the Excise Tax and any customs duties due at the point of entry of the goods into the State of Qatar.

In this case, the General Tax Authority requires importers to file Excise Tax returns for information purposes only, since payment of tax due has already been completed at the customs. The GTA may exempt importers from submitting Excise Tax returns by virtue of a Decision.

Where excise goods are imported into Qatar but immediately placed in an Excise Tax warehouse, the goods are held under suspension for Excise Tax purposes until the point they are released from the warehouse and released for free circulation in Qatar.