Retail
View Point / VAT in GCC
Retailers see short-term
impact of VAT on consumer
electronics
Source: Gulf News
Positive side is that it is only 5% in
the Emirate, Jacky’s COO says
“Consumer electronics is not
a daily purchase and some
consumers may buy before
December while some will wait
and see to see the impact. The
best part is that the UAE has
the least taxation in this part of
the world,” he said.
He added that it is possible
for retailers to absorb VAT on
some high-margin products
such as domestic appliances,
fridges, washing machine and
A/Cs but it is unlikely that the
trade may absorb the tax on
small-margin products like
smartphones and TVs.
K
ey retailers in the UAE consumer
electronics industry expect the impact
of value-added tax (VAT) to be felt for one
quarter after the Dubai Shopping Festival,
which ends on January 28.
VAT is being implemented in the UAE from
January 1, 2018.
Niranjan Gidwani, CEO of Eros Group, said
that the impact will be there for a short
term. Some purchasing decisions will get
delayed and some will be preponed to pre
VAT.
Nadeem Khanzadah, head of
omnichannel retail at Jumbo
Group, said that the impact
will be there at the time of
implementation of VAT and
“we will see a robust demand
before that, especially in
December”.
“During DSF, retailers will
be offering discounts and
promotions. For one quarter,
we will see a kind of downward
trend in sales. Once people get
used to VAT, it will be back to
normal,” he said.
September 2017
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