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Bahrain’s National Bureau for Revenue confirmed that the number of VAT-registered entities exceeded 27,000 by the end of 2025. Local media reports cited in the KPMG bulletin said the convicted owners ran an electronics megastore that ceased operations in 2024. The ruling forms part of sustained enforcement against evasion while businesses manage annual input VAT adjustments that reconcile provisional recoveries with actual taxable use over the year. Financial institutions, insurers and real estate firms must perform these calculations to align recovered input tax with their mix of taxable and exempt supplies.
KPMG’s February 2026 GCC tax news update outlined a forthcoming corporate income tax regime that will tax capital gains on asset disposals while including transitional provisions to exclude pre-implementation appreciation. The bulletin referenced similar rules in other GCC jurisdictions for illustrative purposes only and cautioned that its content does not constitute tax advice. Bahrain’s Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax framework requires advance payments from designated filing entities within 60 days after each three-month period, although transitional relief defers the first instalment to the second-period deadline in the initial year.
The 1 March 2026 advance payment deadline covers the fourth quarter of 2025 for groups with a December fiscal year-end, the third quarter for those ending in March, and the first two quarters for entities closing books in June. Groups that have validly elected safe-harbour or exclusion options face no payment obligation unless their eligibility changes. A separate regulatory update webinar on FATCA and CRS compliance is scheduled for 16 February 2026 to address common gaps and strengthen reporting controls.
In Saudi Arabia the Executive Council of the GCC Customs Union Authority held its 16th meeting in Riyadh on 10 February 2026 to progress joint initiatives and complete institutional requirements for the union. The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority followed with a series of virtual workshops, beginning on 16 February with sessions on VAT fundamentals and zakat-base calculations. A further workshop on 17 February addressed VAT treatment of e-commerce transactions to support taxpayer compliance.
The UAE Ministry of Finance issued Cabinet Decision No. 1 of 2026 on 10 February exempting certain sports entities from corporate tax under the 2022 federal decree-law. On the same date the Federal Tax Authority published a revised Taxable Person Guide for Excise Tax that updates rules on sweetened drinks, valuation methods and associated administrative obligations. The authority additionally conducted early-February workshops on corporate tax return submission and navigation of the EmaraTax digital platform.
Qatar’s Ministry of Justice released Official Gazette No. 3 of 2026 on 12 February containing the Council of Ministers resolution that sets detailed application rules for the country’s Global Anti-Base Erosion legislation. The publication implements the GloBE framework for large multinational enterprises and requires businesses to evaluate its effect on existing structures. KPMG encouraged affected groups to review the resolution against their regional operations.
