The United Arab Emirates' Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has introduced an artificial intelligence system for tourist value-added tax (VAT) refunds at three airports, promising faster payments while retaining fees on each claim.
The FTA says the reported wait for payment has fallen from about nine days to one business day. That is separate from the airport procedure, which the authority says can take minutes. The platform began operating Oct. 20 with Planet, the authorized operator of the tourist refund scheme.
Visitors can submit claims at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, Dubai International Airport and Sharjah International Airport. To set up Planet's app, users provide a face scan and images of their passport and bank card. At an airport refund point, they scan a QR code to begin a claim.
The system compares purchase invoices with travel details and flags unusual transaction patterns, the FTA says. Visitors whose claims need no inspection can finish in the app. Others are directed to facial-recognition gates and kiosks. The authority says the checks reduce manual work and support tax compliance.
The quicker process does not eliminate the cost to tourists. Under the FTA's rules, each claim is reduced by 13% of the VAT refund amount requested, plus AED 3.60 per claim.
An FTA service page updated Aug. 25 still says bank-card refunds can take up to nine calendar days. It also lists cash and digital-wallet options, without explaining how those payment methods fit the newly announced one-business-day turnaround.
The tourist refund scheme began in 2018. From its launch through October 2026, the FTA reports returning about AED 4.2 billion through 25 million transactions. The FTA describes the new platform as part of its Digital Zero Bureaucracy Programme.
For November 2026 through October 2027, the FTA projects about four million refund transactions worth AED 692 million.
