The Oman Tax Authority published Decision 225/2026 in Official Gazette issue 1667 on September 27, 2026, specifying the food commodities subject to value added tax at the rate of zero percent. Chairman Nasser bin Khamis bin Ali Al-Jashmi signed the decision on September 22, 2026. It rests on the VAT Law issued by Royal Decree 121/2020 and replaces Tax Authority Decision 65/2021.
Oman food importers and customs-clearing distributors, Oman supermarkets, grocery and food retailers, Oman food producers and manufacturers, and Oman food wholesalers must reclassify food product lines against Decision 225/2026's tariff-code annex and apply 0% VAT, or the 5% standard rate to items that are no longer listed, in invoicing, point of sale and VAT returns by October 1, 2026, or incorrect VAT charged or declared on food sales exposes the business to tax assessments and penalties under Oman's VAT Law (Royal Decree 121/2020) and to correcting filed returns. Article III states that the decision is published in the Official Gazette and applies from October 1, 2026.
What does Decision 225/2026 change in the food zero rate?
Article I subjects the food commodities listed in the attached annex to VAT at zero percent. Article II repeals Decision 65/2021 and cancels every provision that conflicts with the new decision. From October 1, 2026 the zero rate is the annex of Decision 225/2026, not the 2021 list.
The annex identifies each commodity by a national customs tariff code. The published lines cover pure-bred and other live cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and camels; fresh, chilled and frozen bovine, sheep and goat meat; a long run of fish, shrimp, squid and related headings; milk across fat bands and pack sizes, including long-life, powdered, evaporated and sweetened milk; yoghurt, labneh, buttermilk, kefir and whey; butter and dairy spreads; fresh, grated, processed and hard cheeses; and eggs for hatching and for consumption. The Official Gazette text on qanoon.om and the decision PDF are the working lists. An English mirror is on decree.om.
| Point | Decision 65/2021 | Decision 225/2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Zero-rated foods | The 2021 commodity list | The annex, each line a customs tariff code |
| Legal status | Repealed by Article II | In force from October 1, 2026 |
| Goods outside the applicable list | 5% standard rate | 5% standard rate |
| Issuing act | Tax Authority decision of 2021 | Signed September 22, 2026, Gazette issue 1667 of September 27, 2026 |
Who must reclassify food lines sold in Oman?
The exposed businesses are those that place the listed commodities on the Omani market: food importers and distributors who clear the goods, supermarkets and grocery retailers, food producers and manufacturers, and food wholesalers. The zero rate follows the tariff code of the commodity, not the trader's licence category. A line that matched Decision 65/2021 and is absent from the new annex is no longer zero-rated. A line that appears in the new annex stays at 0% only when the invoice description matches that code.
Registration and the 5% standard rate remain those of the VAT Law (Royal Decree 121/2020). The registration threshold of OMR 38,500 is unchanged by this decision. Decision 225/2026 does not cover medicines or medical equipment: those sit in the separate Tax Authority decisions issued in the same batch.
What must be in place by October 1, 2026?
Before the application date, map every food SKU to a tariff code in the annex and set the VAT rate in the item master, the point of sale and the tax engine.
- Download the annex from the decision PDF and match each active food SKU to a tariff code, or confirm it is absent.
- Set 0% VAT on codes that appear in the annex and 5% on codes that were zero-rated only under Decision 65/2021 and are not in the annex.
- Update invoice templates, shelf prices and contracts that still cite the 2021 list or a blanket food zero rate.
- Brief accounts payable and accounts receivable so purchase and sales tax codes change on supplies dated October 1, 2026 and after.
- Align the first VAT return that includes October 2026 supplies with the new codes, and keep the mapping file with the return.
Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring is what surfaces a gazette decision of this kind the day the Official Gazette issue is published.
What happens if the old list is still used after October 1, 2026?
Charging 0% on a commodity the annex does not list, or charging 5% on a commodity the annex does list, is an incorrect VAT amount on the supply. The Tax Authority can assess the difference and apply the penalties of the VAT Law (Royal Decree 121/2020). Filed returns that used Decision 65/2021 for supplies dated October 1, 2026 or later have to be corrected. The decision itself does not state a new fine amount: the penalty regime is the one already in the VAT Law, administered by the Oman Tax Authority.
Verify which of your food lines sit on the annex, switch the rate in invoicing and the point of sale before October 1, 2026, and brief finance and the customs broker on the repealed 2021 list. Obsidian tracks the Official Gazette issue so the annex, not a superseded decision, is what the return follows.
