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The UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) launched an integrated digital platform for tourist value-added tax refunds, WAM reported on 20 October. Developed with Planet, the authorised operator of the tourist refund scheme, the paperless process combines verification and data entry through Planet’s mobile application with AI-powered facial recognition.
The authority said the service was operational at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, Dubai International Airport and Sharjah International Airport. It also reported that, as of October 2026, the total time for tourists to receive refunds had fallen to one business day from approximately nine days previously. Those are the FTA’s stated service-time figures; the announcement does not provide a separate measurement method or per-airport breakdown.