The Central Bank says the amount of coins circulating in the UAE is sufficient for the moment, despite complaints about small change and rounding up of prices after the introduction of VAT.
“The role of Central Bank of the UAE is to monitor cash use in the market and supply banks with the quantities of coins they require to address the needs of their various customers,” the regulator said on Sunday.
“At the moment, the amount of coins including small denomination in the market is sufficient.”
The move follows Thursday’s clarification by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development that shops in the emirate could round up the cost of products by 20 fils.
A bottle of water that is now Dh1.05 can be rounded up to Dh1.25 – a 25 per cent increase from the pre-VAT cost.
But shops and service providers are under no legal obligation to round up. And the 1, 5 and 10 fils coins are rarely used but are still legal tender.
Major supermarket chains on Sunday clarified their approach.
Spinneys said it was working to ensure a minimal effect on customers and is rounding down to the nearest 25 fils at checkouts on the total cost of goods.
“There will always be teething issues with any major change,” a spokesman for Spinneys said.
“We have used a combination of rounding up and rounding down to be as close to 5 per cent as possible and ensure sensible pricing for our customers.
“The policy at Spinneys has been, and continues to be, to round down to the nearest 25 fils at the checkout, giving the customer the benefit.”
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Read more:
Sheikh Mohammed: 70% of VAT revenue to be used in local projects
UAE workers buy in bulk to beat VAT as small purchases prove too costly
National Editorial: How to reduce rounding up in our shops and stores
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Carrefour said that in the case of cash transactions, change would be rounded up or down to the nearest quarter dirham – 25 fils, 50 fils and 75 fils. And in accordance with the departments rule, the rounding-up should not exceed 20 fils.
“In the credit and debit card transactions, the exact total amount will be deducted,” it said. “The company is carrying out different campaigns where they are absorbing VAT on selected items. An example is the Dubai Shopping Festival Campaign.”
The Fathima chain said it was rounding down prices.
“We have implemented VAT at individual items and rounded down the prices so that our loyal set of customers don’t feel the hit,” said Sameer Sulaiman, chief executive of Fathima Group.
The Zoom convenience chain, which is owned by Emirates National Oil Company, said it was following the department’s directive. “Zoom will round the VAT figures to the nearest 25 fils,” it said. “We are aware of the difficulties faced and we are working closely with DED for a solution.”
Many other outlets still seem to be figuring out the path ahead. When a latte came to Dh18.90 in one prominent coffee chain in the capital over the weekend, 25 fils change was handed over.
The cashier said it was done on a case-by-case basis and a formal policy on rounding up or down was not yet in effect. But two other branches of the same chain said they were rounding up to Dh19.
In another shop selling weight-gaining supplements in Khalidiya, the cashier said they offered 25 fils as change if 10 fils was the correct amount because they did not have small coins. But he said that many customers didn’t bother with the change.
Many lower-income workers are buying in bulk to offset the cost of rounding up. The increases will hit these workers the hardest.
It is not yet clear if the department’s rounding-up clarification applies to all emirates. But in phone calls to consumer lines at the Ministry of Interior and the Dubai Department of Economic Development, it was stated that consumers have a legal right to the correct change. And if you do not receive it, consumers can raise complaints.
In Dubai people can complain through the Ahlan Dubai number at 600 545555, while the UAE-wide Federal Consumer Protection Office can be reached on 600 522225.
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Read more:
VAT in UAE: Abu Dhabi shops can round low-cost items by up to 20 fils
How VAT in the UAE will affect you
ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO
Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)
Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)
Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
