The Finance World Magazine| Edition: April 2023

The Customer Councils initiative aims to
improve government services by aligning with
customer needs, improving communication,
and streamlining service access.
The FTA recently introduced a
new feature to the EmaraTax
platform that allows tax system
registrants to use their UAE
PASS digital identity for all procedures
and services. The FTA collaborated
with relevant authorities to ensure
the highest standards of security,
confidentiality, and accuracy of
information and procedures.
The primary goal of the new feature
is to improve user experience, speed up
processes, and meet the aspirations of
customers. Moreover, the introduction
of the new feature is part of the UAE’s
wider digital transformation initiative.
Abdulla Al Bastaki, Executive Director
of the Information Technology Sector at
the FTA, has urged all FTA customers
to activate their UAE PASS accounts
and utilize the new feature to access the
Authority’s services easily and quickly
from their devices and smartphones
without the need to create new login
details.
Al Bastaki explained that launching
the single sign-on feature using UAE
PASS forms part of the continuous
development and upgrading of
government services, using the UAE’s
advanced digital infrastructure, which is
among the most developed not only in
the region but also internationally. “All of
this was made possible by the forwardlooking
vision of our wise leadership,
which aims to forecast the future with
strategies and initiatives designed to
enhance the efficiency of government
systems, improve quality of life for
individuals, establish a sustainable
environment, and promote happiness
and wellbeing in the community,” he
said. “The agreement also aims to offer
an added value for users, allowing them
to save time, cost, and effort, while
offering them faster processing time
for services and increased flexibility
of data communication.”
On the other hand, The FTA has
initiated a ‘Customer Council’ program
to enhance the quality of government
services by engaging customers in
the process of designing innovative
experiences around their own ideas and
suggestions. As part of this initiative,
the FTA convened a Customer Council
meeting at Majlis Umm Suqiem in Dubai
to discuss ways to bolster tax culture
and meet customers’ expectations.
The session brought together
representatives from various business
sectors and stakeholders from the tax
sector. During the meeting, FTA experts
provided an overview of the UAE tax
system and its advanced procedures
that encourage voluntary compliance
among businesses with easy and quick
processes that are in accordance with
best practices.
During the Customer Council
organized by the FTA, various issues
related to the tax system, procedures,
and legislation were discussed. These
included procedures for submitting
requests for reconsideration, requests
to pay administrative penalties in
installments or be exempt from them,
procedures and required documents
for registration and deregistration,
procedures for submitting voluntary
declaration requests, and documents
required to submit refund requests.
The council also discussed the services
provided by the Authority and its future
directions. It was emphasized that all
requirements must be adhered to and
that the Authority-approved forms
should be used.
Furthermore, the FTA discussed
typical mistakes that people make during
registration, tax return submission, and
payment of taxes, and provided tips on
how to avoid them. FTA experts also
fielded questions from representatives
of various business sectors and listened
to their opinions and suggestions for
improving FTA services and procedures,
which is a key objective of the FTA’s
Customer Council initiative. The FTA
reiterated its commitment to holding
these meetings regularly in order to
promote tax awareness across all
business sectors and to provide them
with the necessary information and
support to overcome any challenges
they may face.
The Customer Council initiative
aims to align government services
with customer needs, improve
communication, and streamline the
process for accessing services. It
also seeks to identify innoVATive
ways to enhance government services
and establish effective and direct
communication channels with
customers from different segments,
providing opportunities to present ideas
and initiatives that serve them, as well
as explore ways to improve services.
Additionally, the initiative provides a
platform to present key projects that
were developed based on feedback
and suggestions received during the
Customer Council meetings.
April 2023 www.thefinanceworld.com 81