Since its launch nearly six years ago, the Value Added Tax (VAT) Refund for UAE Nationals Building New Residences service has undergone continuous development and updates to ensure greater ease and convenience. This aligns with the Federal Tax Authority's (FTA) commitment to supporting the UAE's wise leadership in its vision to establish a modern housing system for Emirati citizens and ensure the highest standards of living and wellbeing. UAE citizens remain central to the country's development plans and are the primary beneficiaries of all initiatives and projects implemented by Government institutions

Following a period of dedicated efforts, FTA specialists built a fully integrated platform using the latest technologies and smart systems to enhance customer experience for UAE citizens who use this service. To that end, the FTA successfully launched the Maskan smart application in 2024, offering 100% paperless and fully digital processes. The initiative forms part of the FTA's initiatives, launched under the range of transformational projects designed to develop the Authority's digital services, expedite service delivery, cut paper usage, and minimise the number of required documents

The Maskan app offers smart solutions designed to sustainably enhance user experience, allowing UAE citizens to seamlessly access the VAT Refund for UAE Nationals Building New Residences service, 24/7 and from anywhere. The application exemplifies high-efficiency workflows that contribute to the UAE's Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme, which aims to eliminate 2,000 government procedures in one year and reduce service completion times by 50%

The application was designed in line with the latest standards, offering quick and efficient performance, along with simple, clear procedures that enable UAE citizens to benefit from the digitisation and acceleration of the VAT refund process on their newly constructed homes. During the platform's development phase, the FTA held a series of brainstorming sessions and consultative meetings with citizens, suppliers, and other stakeholders to gather insights based on real user experiences. The feedback was taken into careful consideration in the design and implementation of the Maskan app

A key feature the application offers is enabling UAE citizens to create accounts that can be accessed with a unified login system across all FTA platforms, using the national digital identity and signature solution UAE PASS. Once logged in, users can generate a QR code for the refund request, and with a single click, the app retrieves invoice details and automatically calculates the VAT amount eligible for a refund

We are confident that the Maskan app will help achieve our strategic goals, foremost among them being the sustainable improvement of the FTA services' performance on customer happiness indicators. And with that in mind, we will continue to innovate and launch outstanding initiatives, with an aim to deliver a future generation of integrated, proactive services, firmly positioning UAE Government services among the best in the world

Khalid Ali Al Bustani

Director General, Federal Tax Authority (FTA)