English text status

English translation published by the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission. The Arabic text published in the Official Gazette remains the legal reference in the event of any discrepancy.

Practical summary

This historical provision governed forecasting and phased registration when VAT launched in 2019. It does not replace today's rolling previous-12-month and next-12-month registration tests.

Who should read this?

Taxable Persons, finance teams and advisers applying this Article to a Bahrain VAT position.

Why does it matter?

The launch-era registration provisions do not replace today's rolling twelve-month tests.

Historic 2019 ruleLaunch provisionNot today's test

Current text

Every Person who is a resident or engaged in an Economic Activity in the Kingdom, prior to this Law coming into force, shall carry out the following: Forecast his estimated annual revenues for the year beginning 1 January 2019. Apply to the Bureau for registration for Tax purposes if it is expected that the value of his imports or Supplies made in the year beginning 1 January 2019 will exceed the Mandatory Registration Threshold. The period to commence registration shall be determined by a decision issued by the Minister on the basis of the value of Supplies made by the Taxable Person. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 63 of this Law, a Taxable Person who is proven to have made imports and Supplies exceeding the Mandatory Registration Threshold during the year starting on 1 January 2019 without having registered for Tax within the time specified in Paragraph A of this Article shall be considered to be registered under the provisions of this Law.

Application steps

  1. 1

    Use this Article for historical launch cases.

  2. 2

    For current cases, apply the previous and next twelve-month windows.

  3. 3

    Retain the relevant phased-registration decision for historical disputes.

Connected provisions

Direct legislative link

Law — Article (29)

Related Law Article (29)

This provision supplies the linked rule or procedure needed to apply the Article correctly.

Open connected Article

Official guides and tools

Official text

Value Added Tax Law

Article (77)

Official guide

VAT General Guide

Practical guidance relevant to the Article

Connected Madar tools

Connected Madar tools

VAT Registration Centre

Review registration, transition and first-Return implications.

Illustrative example by Madar

Business reviewed in 2026

A current registration test does not use the historic 2019 launch timetable or a fixed January-to-December year; it reviews the rolling previous and expected next twelve months.

Questions to help you apply it

  • Is this a 2019 launch event?
  • For a current case, when was the threshold crossed?