Figures issued by the Ministry of Finance show that revenues from the value-added tax (VAT) totaled $2.3bn in 2017, constituting an increase of 7.5% from $2.15bn in 2016, and accounting for 85% of aggregate revenues from domestic taxes on goods and services last year. VAT collected at customs totaled $1.4bn in 2017 and increased by 9.3% from $1.2bn in 2016. It accounted for 59% of overall VAT receipts in 2017, up from a share of 58% in 2016. Also, the effective VAT rate at customs, which is the ratio of VAT collected at customs over total imports, increased marginally from 6.5% in 2016 to 6.9% in 2017, as VAT collected grew at a faster rate than imports. Further, collected VAT receipts from internal economic activity stood at $947.3m in 2017, constituting an increase of 5% from $902.8m in 2016, and compared to a growth of 8.4% in 2013, 13% in 2010 and 23% in 2009. VAT receipts from internal economic activity represented 41% of aggregate VAT revenues in 2017, down from 42% in 2016.  

In parallel, the ministry provided a breakdown of the amount of declared VAT from internal economic activity in 2017, the first such breakdown since 2013. The amount of declared VAT by the wholesale trade sector, excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles, stood at $153.2m in 2017, up by 3.85% from the previous year. Also, the amount of declared VAT by the retail trade sector, excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles, reached $120.7m last year, reflecting an increase of 7.2% from 2016. Further, the amount of declared VAT by hotels & restaurants totaled $76.3m, up by 9.1% year-on-year; while the amount of VAT declared by the construction and real estate sectors stood at $61.7m each last year. The amount of VAT declared by the real estate sector increased by 12.7% in 2017, while the amount declared by the construction sector regressed by 4.6% last year.