Retail sales trigger tax unless the buyer presents a boarding pass for an international flight departing within 24 hours and the sale is recorded by its barcode.
What should you do now?Record destination, purchaser status and relief evidence for each claimed exempt sale.
Arabic text of Article 38
The official source is Arabic. The English content on this page is explanatory and is not presented as an official translation.
استحقاق الضريبة في المناطق والأسواق الحرة
تستحق الضريبة عن السلع الانتقائية إذا تم بيعها إلى المستهلك من إحدى محلات المناطق أو الأسواق الحرة المرخصة كمستودع ضريبي طبقاً لنص الفقرة (هـ) من المادة (14) من هذه اللائحة، ومع ذلك لا تفرض الضريبة في هذه الحالة إذا توافرت الشروط الآتية:
1- إذا قدم المستهلك بطاقة صعود إلى الطائرة لرحلة جوية دولية تغادر المملكة خلال (24) ساعة من وقت البيع.
2- إثبات واقعة البيع بموجب الرمز الشريطي (الباركود) لبطاقة صعود الطائرة.
ويقصد بالرحلة الجوية الدولية لأغراض هذه المادة، كل رحلة جوية مباشرة أو غير مباشرة بين المملكة والمكان الذي تهبط فيه الطائرة خارج إقليم المملكة.
What does the Article mean in plain language?
A consumer sale in a free zone or duty-free market is not universally exempt. No tax arises on a sale by a shop licensed as a tax warehouse only if the buyer presents a boarding pass for an international flight leaving Bahrain within 24 hours of the sale and the sale is recorded by the boarding-pass barcode; otherwise tax is due. The shop's location alone is not enough.
Relevant to diplomatic bodies, travellers, duty-free sellers and mistaken refund recipients.
Record destination, purchaser status and relief evidence for each claimed exempt sale.
How can this rule appear in practice?
A domestic consumer sale differs from a qualifying departing-traveller sale; determine the route before pricing.
The example is explanatory; it is not an NBR case or a binding result for a specific fact pattern.Equating duty-free location with no tax in every case.
Related Articles
Returns, payment and refunds guide
Open the topic guide that combines Law, Regulations, procedure and examples in one flow.
Open practical guideBefore relying on the result
Is this commentary enough for a final decision?
No. Use it to understand and route the issue, then match the facts against official legislation, amendments and current guidance, obtaining specialist advice for material amounts, deadlines or penalties.
Why are several sources listed?
The Law states the rule, the Regulations detail procedure and the guide explains portal operation. None replaces the others.
What is the first fact I need?
Record destination, purchaser status and relief evidence for each claimed exempt sale.
Official sources and guidance
Official source of the Regulations, read with the 2022 amendment and later decisions.
Used for operational context, terminology and examples; it does not replace legislation.
Reference for refund cases and their supporting evidence.