# Turn EmaraTax into an API

> Build methods that read your VAT returns in My Filings, the liabilities on My Payments and the items in My Correspondences, one API call each. A workflow can check My Filings every Monday and email you the returns not yet submitted.

Page: https://fous.com/automate/emaratax
Updated: 2026-11-12

Works with your own EmaraTax account. Fous is an independent product.

## What you can build on EmaraTax

### Get VAT filings

Opens VAT in the Taxable Person menu, then My Filings under Returns & Refunds, selects View all and reads your obligations, returns and voluntary disclosures.

- Takes: Tax type (VAT or Excise Tax), period from (optional)
- Returns: Filing type, tax period, due date, status, submitted date

### Check liabilities and funds on account

Reads the My Payments screen: the liabilities listed on Select and Pay and the Funds available on account tile.

- Takes: Tax type (optional)
- Returns: Liability description, tax period, due date, amount due in AED, funds available on account

### List My Correspondences

Reads the My Correspondences section of your Taxable Person account, where EmaraTax keeps your registration certificates.

- Takes: Received since (optional)
- Returns: Date, subject, tax type, document name

### Generate a GIBAN payment reference

On My Payments, selects the liabilities you name in Select and Pay, chooses GIBAN and generates the unique payment reference number for your bank transfer.

- Takes: Liabilities to pay (tax period or description)
- Returns: Payment reference number, GIBAN, amount payable in AED, liabilities included

## Automate EmaraTax with a workflow

A [workflow](/product/workflows) runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

### Open VAT returns, every Monday

Starts: Every Monday at 8:00, Asia/Dubai

1. Get your VAT filings from My Filings.
2. Keep the returns that are not yet submitted.
3. Email you the list with tax period, due date and status.

### New liabilities, posted to your accounting system

Starts: Every weekday at 9:00, Asia/Dubai

1. Read the liabilities and Funds available on account on My Payments.
2. Keep the liabilities that were not there on the last run.
3. Post description, tax period, due date and amount in AED to your ERP webhook.

### New items in My Correspondences

Starts: Every weekday at 10:00, Asia/Dubai

1. List My Correspondences.
2. Keep the items that were not there on the last run.
3. Email you each new item's date, subject and tax type.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

## Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a [method](/product/methods), it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Get VAT filings” would look like.

Example request:

```
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "eservices.tax.gov.ae/get_vat_filings",
    "input": {
      "tax_type": "VAT",
      "period_from": "2026-01"
    }
  }'
```

Example response:

```
{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "taxable_person": "Acme Trading LLC",
    "tax_type": "VAT",
    "filings": [
      {
        "filing_type": "VAT Return",
        "tax_period": "2026-07-01 to 2026-09-30",
        "due_date": "2026-10-28",
        "status": "Submitted",
        "submitted_date": "2026-10-21"
      }
    ],
    "count": 1
  }
}
```

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

## EmaraTax’s own options

The FTA's EmaraTax guides and FAQs describe the portal only: they document no API or system integration for registrations, returns or refunds. Taxpayers file and pay in EmaraTax itself. Payments leave EmaraTax by GIBAN bank transfer, with a reference number generated in the portal, or by card through MagnatiPay.

| Option | What it covers | What it takes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GIBAN payment | Pays the taxes and penalties you pre-selected in EmaraTax, from a UAE or foreign bank, exchange house or online banking portal. | A unique payment reference number generated in EmaraTax, quoted with the GIBAN and the exact amount payable. |
| MagnatiPay | Card payment of selected liabilities inside EmaraTax, with Visa or Mastercard prepaid, debit or credit cards. | A service charge of 0.68% of the transaction value plus VAT. Up to AED 1 million a transaction, charges included. |
| EmaraTax by hand | Registrations, My Filings, returns, refunds, My Payments and My Correspondences, one Taxable Person account at a time. | A UAE PASS account linked to your EmaraTax account. |

Read on November 12, 2026: [EmaraTax quick start guide](https://tax.gov.ae/en/emaratax/process.key.message/quick.start.guide.aspx), [EmaraTax VAT knowledge base](https://tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Pdf/2022/EmaraTax/EmaraTax%20VAT-FAQ-Knowledge%20Base%20-Emailer-Bilingual.pdf), [Making payments in EmaraTax](https://tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/EmaraTax-payment%20-Infographic-English-181122.pdf).

## Signing in to EmaraTax

EmaraTax signs you in through UAE PASS: you select Login with UAE Pass and enter your Emirates ID, email address or phone number on the UAE PASS screen. The FTA says its services are available only through UAE PASS. With Fous you sign in once through that sign-in with your own account: the login is sealed with AES-256, never returned by the API, and a method does only what your account can.

## Worth knowing

- **Only an acknowledgment of a filed return**: EmaraTax lets you download an acknowledgment for a submitted return, not the return itself, and the FTA emails you an acknowledgment too. Keep your own copy of the figures you filed.
- **GIBAN payments need a reference number first**: You log in, pre-select the liabilities and generate a unique payment reference number. Quote its 6 digits, the GIBAN and the exact amount, or the bank rejects the payment.
- **Certificates live in My Correspondences**: Registration certificates are in My Correspondences. A certificate that was not a PDF in the old eServices system needs a registration amendment before the FTA issues it.
- **One refund request covers several periods**: VAT and Excise Tax registrants submit one consolidated refund request for all eligible credit balances of a tax type, across tax periods, and can upload supporting evidence.

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## Frequently asked questions

### Does EmaraTax have an API?

Not one the FTA documents. Its EmaraTax guides and FAQs cover the portal itself, where taxpayers register, file returns, claim refunds and generate payment references. Payment leaves the portal by GIBAN bank transfer or by card through MagnatiPay.

### Where do I see all my past VAT returns in EmaraTax?

In My Filings. Open your Taxable Person tile, choose VAT in the left menu, go to Returns & Refunds and select View all on the My Filings tile. The page lists your historical obligations, including returns and voluntary disclosures.

### Where is my VAT registration certificate in EmaraTax?

In the My Correspondences section of your Taxable Person account. Certificates from the old eServices system were moved there if they existed as PDFs. Otherwise you submit a registration amendment, and the FTA issues the certificate once it approves it.

### Can I pay a future VAT return in advance?

Yes. The My Payments screen has an Advance Payment section with a Payment towards your next tax return filing field. Excess credits show under Funds available on account and are allocated to liabilities by due date, oldest first.

### Is Fous affiliated with the UAE Federal Tax Authority?

No. Fous is an independent product. You use it with your own EmaraTax account, signed in through UAE PASS, and a method reads and does only what that account can.

Fous is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the operator of EmaraTax (UAE Federal Tax Authority). The name is used only to say which system this page is about. Something here wrong or out of date? Write to legal@fous.com.