Qatar's Excise Tax Law imposes tax on locally produced or imported excise goods. Law No. (2) of 2026 amended Articles 2 and 4 of this law, so that the tax is now imposed under two schedules attached to it instead of a single schedule as before: Schedule (1), calculated on a retail-price basis, and Schedule (2), covering sweetened drinks, calculated on the basis of their sugar content. The law requires the person liable for the tax to file a return and pay the tax for each tax period within 15 days of its end.
Taxable Goods After the 2026 Amendment
Law No. (2) of 2026 amended Articles 2 and 4 of the Excise Tax Law, so that excise tax is now imposed on locally produced or imported goods listed in two schedules attached to the law, rather than the single schedule that applied before this amendment. A Cabinet decision sets out the names of the excise sub-goods within these two schedules, the harmonized-system code for each, and the date each good becomes subject to tax; the detailed text of these two schedules, including the specific tax rate for each item, is not available in the platform's library as of this writing, so no specific rate for any particular good can be confirmed here. The tax on these goods becomes due on the date they are released for consumption, whether through production outside a suspended tax status, release from that status, importation, or possession without payment of the tax due.
The Basis for Calculating the Tax: Retail Price or Sugar Content
Tax on the excise goods listed in Schedule (1) is imposed on the basis of the retail selling price declared by the producer or importer of these goods, or according to the standard price list issued by the Authority, whichever is higher. Goods listed in Schedule (2), namely sweetened drinks, are instead taxed according to their total sugar content (natural and added) and other sweeteners, rather than at a fixed percentage of the price. 1% of the excise tax revenue collected on sweetened drinks specifically is allocated to the Ministry of Public Health's budget, to be spent on health awareness.
Persons Liable and the Return Deadline
The person liable to pay excise tax includes anyone who produces excise goods outside a suspended tax status, possesses them without paying the tax due, imports them, or releases them from a tax warehouse. A registered liable person must submit a return to the Authority for the tax due for each tax period and pay it on the same day the return is submitted, within 15 days of the end of the tax period.
Penalties for Delay and Violations
Any liable person who does not submit the return within the prescribed periods is subject to a financial penalty of 500 QAR for each day of delay, capped at 180,000 QAR. A penalty of 10,000 QAR is also imposed on anyone who delays registering with the Authority for a period not exceeding 90 days from the expiry of the prescribed registration period.
The Crime of Tax Evasion
Among other cases, failing to submit a registration application for a period exceeding 90 days from the expiry of its specified period is deemed tax evasion. Tax evasion is punishable by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding three times the tax due, or by either of these two penalties, together with confiscation of the excise goods subject to the crime or their equivalent value.
Legal References
- Law No. (25) of 2018 Concerning Excise Tax — Article 3
- Law No. (25) of 2018 Concerning Excise Tax — Article 4
- Law No. (25) of 2018 Concerning Excise Tax — Article 7
- Law No. (25) of 2018 Concerning Excise Tax — Article 16
- Law No. (25) of 2018 Concerning Excise Tax — Article 18
- Law No. (25) of 2018 Concerning Excise Tax — Article 2 (as amended by Law No. (2) of 2026)
- Law No. (2) of 2026 Amending Certain Provisions of Law No. (25) of 2018 Concerning Excise Tax — Article 1 (replacing the text of Articles 2 and 4)
For questions about your specific situation, you can ask the Qatar Tax & Legislation Helper on Helpers, or consult a licensed chartered accountant.