VAT on Delivery and Aggregator Orders in the UAE

Quick answer: Food you sell through delivery is standard-rated at 5% VAT, exactly like dine-in. The aggregator's commission and service fees are a separate supply to you and carry their own 5% VAT - which you can generally recover as input VAT if you hold a valid tax invoice.

The key is to account for VAT on the full food value, not just the amount the aggregator pays out to you.

Delivery and aggregator orders are where VAT gets confusing, because money flows through a third party before it reaches you. Owners often account for VAT on the wrong number - the net payout instead of the full sale - and lose recoverable VAT on commissions. This guide untangles it.

Is delivery food subject to VAT?

Yes. Delivered food is a standard-rated supply at 5% VAT, the same as if the customer ate in. There's no special lower rate for delivery. The supply of prepared food is standard-rated regardless of the channel it reaches the customer through.

What's the VAT trap with aggregator orders?

The trap is accounting for VAT on the net payout instead of the full food value.

Here's what actually happens in a typical aggregator order:

1. The customer pays, say, AED 100 for your food (VAT-inclusive).
2. The aggregator keeps a commission - say AED 30 - and pays you AED 70.
3. Your output VAT is on the AED 100 food sale, not on the AED 70 you received.

If you only account for VAT on the AED 70 that hit your account, you under-report your output VAT on the sale. The food supply is yours at its full value; the commission is a separate transaction.

How is the aggregator commission treated for VAT?

The aggregator's commission and service fees are a supply made to you, and they carry their own 5% VAT. That VAT is generally recoverable as input VAT - provided you hold a valid tax invoice from the aggregator showing their TRN and the VAT charged.

So a single delivery order has two VAT events:

Netting these correctly is what keeps you from both over-paying (missing the recoverable commission VAT) and under-paying (accounting on the payout instead of the full sale).

What records do I need to get this right?

• The full food sale value per order (not just the payout).
• The aggregator's commission/fee tax invoices showing their TRN and VAT - your evidence for recovering input VAT.
• A clean split between the food revenue and the commission cost, so each carries the right VAT treatment.

Reconciling the aggregator's statements to your own sales records each period is the discipline that makes the VAT return accurate.

Does e-invoicing affect aggregator orders?

Consumer delivery orders are B2C and therefore not in scope for the e-invoicing mandate - they need a standard VAT receipt, not an e-invoice. However, the commercial relationship with the aggregator (commission invoicing between two businesses) is B2B, so those invoices can fall within e-invoicing scope under the FTA's phased rollout. In practice the aggregator manages its own side; your job is to keep your food-sale VAT and your recoverable commission VAT clean.

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