The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has launched an artificial intelligence-powered platform for tourist value-added tax (VAT) refunds, allowing visitors to complete the process digitally and receive refunds within minutes where no inspection is required.
The platform, developed in collaboration with Planet, the authorised operator of the UAE’s Tourist Tax Refund Scheme, is operational at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, Dubai International Airport and Sharjah International Airport.
The system uses facial recognition, automated verification and data integration to streamline refund procedures and eliminate paperwork. Tourists register through Planet’s mobile application, scan a QR code at airport refund points and complete the process through the app. Those requiring inspection are directed to smart gates equipped with facial recognition technology.
The FTA said the platform automatically matches invoice and travel information, reduces manual intervention and uses artificial intelligence to identify transactions eligible for automatic refunds. It also offers multilingual services and uses AI to detect unusual transaction patterns to support tax compliance.
FTA Director General Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Mulla said the launch would improve the tourist experience and advance the UAE’s Digital Zero Bureaucracy Programme.
The authority said the time required to receive tourist VAT refunds had fallen to one business day as of October 2026, compared with about nine days previously.
Tourist satisfaction reached 93 percent in the first nine months of 2026, up from 92 percent in the same period last year, the FTA said.
The authority expects the scheme to process about four million transactions worth approximately AED692 million between November 2026 and October 2027.
Since the scheme began in 2018, the FTA has refunded about AED4.2 billion in VAT through 25 million transactions, according to the authority. The network includes around 16,700 registered retail outlets and 98 self-service kiosks, which account for 22.4 percent of transactions.
