Gulf agreement on redefining energy drinks... tax-wise

Kuwait participated today in the seventeenth meeting of the Committee of Heads and Directors of Tax Authorities of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), held in the Bahraini capital of Manama, with Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance Asil Al-Munaifi leading the Kuwaiti delegation.

During the meeting, several topics related to the implementation of excise tax and value-added tax (VAT) in GCC member states were discussed, most notably the agreement to redefine energy drinks for tax policy purposes. The member states’ views on the project to build and manage an electronic system for indirect taxes were also reviewed, along with the adoption of the English translation of the annexes amending the unified VAT and excise tax agreements.

Notably, the agreed recommendations will be submitted to the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee for presentation at its next meeting, scheduled for October 2026.