Quotation Template for UAE Banquet Halls and Caterers

Quote the price the client will actually pay

Article 38 of the VAT law and the Executive Regulation require prices for taxable supplies to be advertised and displayed inclusive of VAT, and the FTA has warned businesses that failing to do so attracts a penalty. The FTA reads the rule widely, so treat your quotations the same way: the headline number on a banquet proposal should be the VAT-inclusive total.

That does not stop you showing the breakdown. Corporate clients want the net amount and the VAT separately so their finance team can check it against the tax invoice. The template shows net, VAT at 5% and gross on every line, and leads with the gross total.

If you are not VAT registered because your supplies are below AED 375,000, leave VAT off completely and do not print a tax registration number you do not have.

Per-cover pricing, minimum guarantees and the hall

Most UAE ballrooms sell on a per-cover basis. The quotation names the menu, the price per guest and the minimum number of guests, and states whether the hall is included once that minimum is met or charged separately below it. Write the rule out in full. A proposal that says AED 185 per person, minimum 150 guests, hall included leaves no room for argument when only 120 guests confirm.

Set a date for final numbers, usually 72 hours to a week before the event, and say what happens after it. Many halls charge the confirmed number even if fewer guests arrive and add extra covers at the same rate if more turn up.

List everything else on its own line: stage and floral decor, kosha or backdrop, lighting, photography, a mocktail package, cake, valet, and any extra hours. When families compare three halls, the one with the clearest line items usually wins the trust, even if it is not the cheapest.

• Menu name and price per cover, with the minimum guarantee
• Hall or ballroom: hours, capacity, separate sections if needed
• Beverages: soft drinks, mocktails, tea and coffee service
• Decor, stage, lighting and entertainment lines
• VAT at 5% per line and the VAT-inclusive total

Engagement party quotation

Evening engagement party for 150 guests in a Dubai hotel ballroom, 19:30 to 00:30

• Ballroom included for a minimum of 150 covers.
• Final guest numbers due five days before the event.
• Headline total shown inclusive of 5% VAT.

What your quotation must show in United Arab Emirates

Service charges and other additions

Hotels often add a service charge to banquet food and beverage. If you do, put it on the quotation as its own line and apply VAT to it: a service charge you add to the bill is part of what the client pays for the supply, so it is taxed at 5% along with the food.

Some hotel bills in Dubai and other emirates also carry local municipality or tourism fees. Whether any of them applies to a banquet depends on the emirate and the type of establishment, so confirm with your finance team which charges apply to your venue and show each one clearly rather than folding it into the cover price.

Whatever you add, keep the total the client sees on the first page equal to what they will be invoiced, including VAT. A proposal that grows by 20% between the quote and the invoice creates the dispute before the event has even started.

Staged payments and how they affect VAT

Large weddings are usually paid in stages: an advance to secure the date, a second payment when the menu and decor are fixed, and the balance before or on the day. Put the schedule on the quotation with amounts, due dates and the payment method.

Each advance can matter for VAT. Under Article 25 of the VAT law the date of supply for services is the earliest of several dates, one of which is the date payment is received. A tax invoice must follow within 14 days of that date. If you take AED 30,000 in March for an event in November, discuss with your adviser whether a tax invoice for that advance is due in March.

Post-dated cheques are common for the later instalments. Record them on the quotation schedule as expected payments, and only treat them as received when they clear.

Cancellation and date changes

UAE law does not set a standard cancellation scale for private events, so your quotation and booking form are the contract. State what happens to each payment if the event is cancelled or moved: how much is refundable at what notice, whether a date change within a set period carries a fee, and what happens if a government restriction or a declared public mourning period cancels events.

Be realistic about timing. A Friday in December lost six weeks before the date is hard to resell. The same Friday cancelled eight months ahead usually can be. A scale that reflects that is easier to defend than a blanket non-refundable clause.

Common mistakes on UAE banquet quotations

Leading with a price exclusive of VAT is the first, because it looks cheaper until the invoice arrives. The second is quoting in US dollars to an overseas family without saying that the tax invoice will be in AED at the Central Bank rate.

The third is a minimum guarantee buried in the terms. When numbers fall, the family remembers the per-cover price, not the paragraph on page four. Put the minimum next to the price.

A fourth one is forgetting Ramadan. A quotation issued in January for an iftar gathering should say whether menu prices hold if the event date moves with the moon sighting, and whether timings shift to after iftar. Clients appreciate a quote that already knows the calendar.

Quotation questions from United Arab Emirates