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Federal Tax Authority, Abu Dhabi & Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Emaratax-Enhanced Computerized Tax System

Company: Federal Tax Authority
Company Description: The Federal Tax Authority (FTA), the government entity responsible for the administration, collection and enforcement of federal taxes, was established in 2016 by the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, via Federal Decree-Law 13 of 2016.
Nomination Category: Technology Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Award for Innovation in Technology Development - Government
2023 Stevie Winner Nomination Title: Emaratax-Enhanced Computerized Tax System
  1. Provide an essay of up to 625 words describing the nominee's innovative achievements since July 1 2021:

    Total 623 words used.

    EmaraTax platform: Another step in the UAE's digital transformation journey designed to provide a better experience for taxpayers managing their tax obligations

    In line with the directives of our wise leadership to explore the future by developing ambitious strategies rooted in the UAE's principles for the next 50 years, and after several months of hard work, the (FTA) launched the new digital tax service platform EmaraTax as the UAE celebrated its 51st National Day in December 2022. The platform uses the most advanced technologies in the field, marking a significant new step forward towards upgrading the national tax system.

    launching EmaratTax is a new step in our digital transformation journey, which has been picking up steam across all sectors and driving continuous development to enhance quality of life in a sustainable environment. The main objective is to make society happy and improve the wellbeing of its members; the EmaraTax platform is the latest digital initiative under the long-term development plans the FTA is implementing to provide seamless and proactive digital services, as well as innovative models that reflect the leadership and excellence of the government work system, while creating value by saving time, cost, and effort, and ensuring faster processing and increased flexibility of data communication. Since its inception, the FTA has been keen to provide an advanced digital structure and to offer all of its services through an integrated electronic system that eliminates the need for paper transactions. We strive to continuously improve customer experience, and are committed to strengthening our strategic partnerships with the government and private sectors, in line with the new methodology for government work.

    The taskforce assigned to implement the project built the EmaraTax platform with the latest technologies and smart programmes available, with the aim of improving user experiences for the Authority's customers, allowing them to manage their tax operations with the utmost efficiency, speed, seamlessness, and transparency.

    A calculated plan was implemented to ensure a smooth transition from the electronic tax system that was previously used over to the EmaraTax platform. User data was migrated to the new platform over the National Day holiday to ensure all users are able to access the new digital platform, without disrupting any FTA customer transactions.

    We have great hope that the EmaratTax platform will meet all stakeholders' aspirations. The FTA has held a series of proactive meetings to gauge the opinions and suggestions of its strategic partners in the government and private sectors, taking them all into careful consideration.

    EmaraTax integrates with influential government entities such as the UAE Central Bank and national technology-based programs including UAE PASS to streamline user experience. This also aligns with the national digital agenda to leverage emerging technologies and build a solid digital infrastructure that serves the people and business community of the UAE.

    EmaraTax is intuitive, easy to navigate and offers improved self-help options for when you need assistance.

    Key Facts about EMARATAX:

    1- More than 300 Customers were involved in designing services.

    2- 60% reengineered processes- that’s 180 processes rebuilt from the ground up.

    3- 119 services online- 84 more than our current plat form offering a step change in user experiences.

    4- 12 new integrations with external systems enabling a range of new simplified functionalities.

    Results:

    • Time (Customers): 

    Process

    Before

    After

    Filing VAT returns

    3.5

    2.5

    Payments

    2.5

    1.5

    Refund

    1.5

    1

    Tax Amendments

    3.5

    2.25

    • Cost (customers):

    Through the calculation of the time consumed (for the most used services) with taking into consideration the demand and cost of the processes. The improvement Percentage almost 49.6% after lunching EMARATAX. 

    • Customer Satisfaction: After: 86% before 77% 
    • Productivity (Tax Officers): Increment percentage is 48:6%
    • FTA received more than 4000 positive feedback on EMARATAX.
Attachments/Videos/Links:
Emaratax-Enhanced Computerized Tax System
URL Federal Tax Authority releases UAE PASS feature on EmaraTax platform
PDF EMARATAX_impact_report.pdf
URL GITEX 2022 - EmaraTax Portal Workshop
PDF EMARATAX__user_experience_assesment_UX.pdf
URL EMARATAX- Taxpayer Awareness Webinar