Does Qatar have VAT, and what do we file instead?

Qatar signed the GCC VAT framework but has not implemented VAT, so there is no VAT return today. What you do file is corporate income tax at 10 per cent on the foreign-owned share of profits through the Dhareeba portal, 5 per cent withholding on certain payments to non-residents, and monthly WPS salary transfers.

Home › Qatar Free Zones › Custom Software Development

Custom Software · Qatar Free Zones

Custom Software Development for Qatar Free Zone Companies

Name: Custom Software Development for Qatar Free Zones
Brand: Zoho

Bespoke software for free zone businesses - built exactly around your process, on fixed, transparent terms.

Get a fixed quote WhatsApp us

Zoho Premium & Odoo Partner · Qatar delivery team on Doha hours

Premium Partner

Get a fixed quote

Tell us your free zone & requirement - we reply within one business day.

The first AI Enabled Zoho Partner in the Middle East and Africa. Accredited by Zoho on 14 October 2026 after the Zoho AI Accelerator Series. Read the announcement

AI Enabled Zoho Partner in Qatar

The West Bay skyline in Doha, Qatar, seen across the bay from MIA Park — Doha's West Bay business district, where most of our Qatar work lands. Photo by Zairon, CC BY 4.0.

CurrencyQatari riyal (QAR), pegged to the US dollar

TaxNo VAT yet; excise tax on selected goods + 10% corporate income tax on foreign-owned profits

FilingGeneral Tax Authority, through the Dhareeba portal

National visionQatar National Vision 2030

Why businesses in Qatar choose Shyphan

Contracting, logistics, energy services, hospitality, retail and professional services firms make up the bulk of the Qatari private sector, and a great many of them still run on spreadsheets and disconnected tools. We put a single system in place - quotes, orders, invoices, stock and collections - without asking the team to change how they actually work.

Qatar applies no VAT today. A GCC-wide VAT has been agreed in principle but is not yet in force, so what matters now is excise tax on tobacco, energy and soft drinks, and corporate income tax at 10% on the foreign-owned share of profits - Qatari and GCC-owned entities are largely exempt. Returns are filed with the General Tax Authority through its Dhareeba portal. We configure your finance system for Dhareeba-ready records, riyal and multi-currency working, WPS payroll files and bilingual Arabic and English documents.

Cities we serve in Qatar

DohaAl RayyanAl WakrahLusailAl KhorUmm SalalAl DaayenMesaieed

Free zones & business hubs

QFZA at Ras Bufontas and Umm Alhoul, the Qatar Financial Centre, Qatar Science & Technology Park, and onshore registration through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Groups often hold entities in more than one.

Key sectors we serve in Qatar

Trading & distributionReal estate & constructionLogisticsHospitality & tourismFinancial servicesRetail & e-commerce

At a glance

Custom Software Development for Qatar Free Zone Companies: the short answer

What it is: Bespoke software for free zone businesses - built exactly around your process, on fixed, transparent terms.
Best suited to: Custom Software Development for Qatar Free Zone Companies suits Qatari companies that have outgrown spreadsheets but do not want an enterprise rollout.
Typical timeline: Depending on scope, typically a few weeks to a few months.
Local specifics: No VAT in Qatar yet - excise tax on selected goods, and corporate income tax at 10% on the foreign-owned share of profits, filed with the General Tax Authority through Dhareeba. Riyal and multi-currency working, WPS payroll files, Arabic and English documents.
Delivered by: Shyphan AI Solutions, a Zoho Premium Partner listed on Zoho's official partner directory. Support on Qatar hours (AST), Sunday to Thursday. Call +91 95651 53545.
Last reviewed: 10 September 2026

How we deliver custom software for free zone companies

Scope & UX design

We scope your requirement, define the build and design the screens and user flows.

Development

We build your web or business application on a fixed, transparent plan with regular demos.

QA & UAT

We test thoroughly and run user-acceptance testing with your team before launch.

Launch & support

We deploy to production, hand over documentation and provide ongoing support.

Why free zone companies choose Shyphan

Fixed, transparent pricing

Know the full cost after a free scoping call - clear scope, no hidden fees.

Qatari compliance built in

Qatar-ready builds with tax-aware billing, Dhareeba filing and Arabic (RTL) support where you need them.

Local Qatar presence

A dedicated Qatar delivery team working Sunday to Thursday on Doha hours, serving free zone companies across all eight municipalities.

Support that stays

Training, documentation and ongoing support after go-live - not just a handover.

Every Qatar free zone we support

Licensed in Doha, Al Rayyan, Al Wakrah, Al Khor or anywhere else in Qatar? We cover companies across all of them:

Doha

Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA)Qatar Financial Centre (QFC)Media City QatarWest BayMsheireb Downtown DohaLusail CityOld Doha PortDoha Industrial Area

Al Rayyan

Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP)Education CityAspire ZoneAl Rayyan Industrial Area

Al Wakrah

Umm Alhoul Free ZoneHamad PortBirkat Al Awamer Industrial ZoneAl Wukair Logistics Park

Al Khor

Ras Laffan Industrial CityAl Khor Industrial AreaAl Khor Community

Other Qatar

Ras Bufontas Free ZoneMesaieed Industrial CityDukhanAba Saleel Industrial ZoneAl Karaana Logistics Park

We also serve free zone and onshore Qatari companies across Doha, Al Rayyan, Al Wakrah, Lusail, Al Khor, Umm Salal, Al Daayen and Mesaieed - onboarding and support are delivered remotely on Qatar (Arabian Standard) time.

Custom Software Development for Qatar Free Zones: questions answered

Do you build custom software for free zone companies?

Yes - bespoke web and business applications for Qatar free zone businesses of any size.

What can you integrate with?

Payment gateways, government and logistics systems, and any third-party API your business uses.

Is pricing fixed?

Yes - we quote a fixed price after a free scoping call.

How long does a custom build take?

Depending on scope, typically a few weeks to a few months.

Which free zones do you support?

All Qatar free zones across every municipality.

Can you work across QFZA, the QFC and onshore entities?

Yes, and it is one of the more common reasons clients call us. The free zones and onshore Qatar have different registration and reporting expectations, so we set the entities up as distinct books with separate document numbering and consolidated reporting on top.

How do you handle Arabic and English documents?

Invoices, quotes and purchase orders can be issued in Arabic or English from the same record, with right-to-left layout where it is needed. Field labels and picklists can carry local terms so the team is not translating in their head every time they open a record.

Do you visit sites in Doha?

Delivery is remote by default, which is what keeps the price down and the timeline short. Where discovery, data migration or end-user training genuinely benefits from being in the room, we schedule on-site attendance in Doha and say so in the quote rather than adding it later.

How long does implementation take?

A single-app rollout for a small team typically goes live in three to five weeks including data migration and training. Multi-entity, multi-currency or heavily automated builds run six to twelve weeks and we phase them, so the first group is working while the next is being configured. You get the timeline in writing with the fixed quote, before any work starts.

Get started

Ready to set up Custom Software Development for your free zone company?

Tell us your free zone and requirement - we’ll reply within one business day with scope, timeline and a fixed quote. Shyphan is a software development company and Zoho Premium & Odoo partner with a Qatari presence in Al Khor.

Zoho Premium & Odoo Partner
Qatari tax, corporate income tax & Dhareeba filing ready
Qatar delivery team on Doha hours
Fixed-quote pricing

Who this is for

Is Custom Software Development for Qatar Free Zone Companies the right fit for you?

Custom Software Development for Qatar Free Zone Companies suits Qatari companies that have outgrown spreadsheets but do not want an enterprise rollout. If that is you, the licence usually pays for itself inside the first quarter. We will say so on the discovery call if it will not.

It is a poor fit if you need a heavily bespoke system with no commercial off-the-shelf equivalent, or if nobody internally can own the data. In either case we will tell you on the first call rather than after the invoice.

Also in Qatar

The rest of what we build for Qatari businesses

Custom Software Development in Qatar

When the process does not fit an off-the-shelf platform: bespoke systems, web and mobile apps, MVPs.

AI Development in Qatar

Chatbots, agents, document processing and automation, grounded on your own data with a human in the loop.

Every Zoho page for Qatar

The full directory: services, applications, migrations, comparisons, industries and city consultants.

What Qatar compliance means in practice

Qatar has not introduced VAT, so the tax work is corporate income tax on the foreign-owned share of profits, filed through Dhareeba, plus withholding tax on payments abroad. The workforce obligations - WPS and social insurance - are where most of the monthly effort actually goes.

Obligation	What the rule is	What has to be configured
Value added tax	Qatar signed the GCC VAT framework but has not implemented VAT. Excise tax applies to tobacco, energy drinks, carbonated drinks and special purpose goods.	The system configured so VAT can be switched on without re-implementing: tax codes, tax-inclusive pricing and invoice layouts ready rather than retrofitted.
Corporate income tax and Dhareeba	10 per cent on the foreign-owned share of profits. Registration, returns and payment all run through the Dhareeba portal, with returns due within four months of the financial year end.	Ownership split reflected in the reporting structure, and a chart of accounts that produces the Dhareeba return rather than feeding a separate schedule.
Withholding tax	5 per cent withholding applies to certain payments to non-residents for services used in Qatar, payable by the 16th of the following month.	Withholding applied at the point of supplier payment, with the certificate produced automatically, so it is not discovered at year end.
Global minimum tax	A 15 per cent global minimum tax applies to in-scope multinational groups from 2025.	Group reporting that supports the computation without a parallel ledger.
Social insurance and WPS	Social insurance contributions apply to Qatari nationals through the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority. All employees must be paid through the Wage Protection System within seven days of the due date.	Nationality-based contribution rules, and a WPS file generated from the payroll run and reconciled to the bank.
Establishment and licensing	Commercial registration, trade licence and, in the free zones, QFZA or QFC requirements, each renewed on its own cycle.	Licence and permit expiry tracked against the entity and the employees who depend on them.

The filing calendar

Monthly, by the 16thWithholding tax on payments to non-residents
MonthlyWPS salary transfer and social insurance
Within four months of year endCorporate income tax return through Dhareeba
AnnuallyCommercial registration and trade licence renewal

Who you file with

Corporate and withholding taxGeneral Tax Authority, Dhareeba
Wage protection systemMinistry of Labour
Free-zone licensingQatar Free Zones Authority

We configure the system to produce what these returns ask for, and we test it against your own transactions before go-live. We are not tax agents: your accountant or tax adviser signs the return, and rates and thresholds change, so treat this as the shape of the work rather than advice. Last reviewed 15 September 2026.

Request A Quote

Get In Touch

Follow Us On: