Accounting and VAT for gold and jewellery traders

What makes gold and jewellery accounting different

• The reverse charge. On qualifying business-to-business supplies, the buyer accounts for the VAT, and the seller's invoice must show it correctly. Each sale needs the buyer's registration and the conditions checked.
• Investment gold. Investment-grade precious metals can be zero-rated, while jewellery and making charges are treated differently.
• Stock by weight and purity. Inventory has to be tracked by weight, purity and value, and reconciled to physical counts.
• Large cash and bank flows. Clean, complete records also support your anti-money laundering obligations and bank reviews.

Our detailed guide covers the rules: VAT for gold and jewellery traders.

How we help

• Bookkeeping set up for metal, stone and jewellery stock, with weight and purity tracked alongside value.
• VAT returns with reverse-charge and zero-rated supplies reported in the right boxes, and a check of every invoice format.
• A review of past periods if invoices were issued the old way, and voluntary disclosures where corrections are needed.
• Cross-border experience for imports, exports and designated-zone movements, and support with FTA queries and assessments.

Sources: Cabinet Decision No. 127 of 2024 on the reverse charge mechanism for precious metals and stones (in force 26 February 2025); FTA Public Clarification VATP043; Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on VAT, as amended (Article 45).