UAE Federal Tax Authority to discontinue eDirham system for tax payment

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has announced it will discontinue the eDirham system for paying taxes from Sunday, October 30. It will be replaced with Magnati, the smart payment option from First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).

Magnati provides advanced software solutions for online payments, using next-generation advanced technologies to provide payment service for FTA customers.

The Magnati smart payments feature allows registrants to pay their tax obligations via FAB’s Magnati platform, in addition to enabling taxpayers to settle any payment due to the FTA using credit cards.

According to a report by the state news agency, WAM, the authority indicated that this step is in line with the Ministry of Finance’s decision to discontinue the use of the eDirham system for government payments, and transfer the payment of fees to government entities for their services using the various other authorised payment options in the UAE.

The authority stated that the electronic tax payment platform available through the e-Services portal on the FTA website provides various other payment options for its customers while maintaining the highest levels of security, ease of use, and speed, reported WAM.

One of these options, the FTA noted, is payment using the generated international bank account number (GIBAN), which is issued by the FTA to each tax registrant and allows taxpayers to send direct transfers from their bank accounts to the authority.

The system is used to transfer funds from various financial institutions in the UAE and abroad and can be used to pay value-added tax (VAT), excise tax, and any other tax obligations.

Earlier in May, Ajman’s Department of Finance (DoF) tied up with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Magnati, a payment solutions provider, to support the launch of new payment channels and services through the AjmanPay application.

Read: Ajman’s DoF, FAB and Magnati to offer digital payments through AjmanPay app