Bahrain VAT registration threshold
Bahrain VAT registration threshold is 37500 BHD, in force since 1 Jan 2020. Last checked against the official source on 10 Aug 2026.
The turnover at which VAT/GST registration becomes compulsory in Bahrain, with the period the test runs over, the rule for non-established suppliers, and any separate treatment of imported digital services.
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| Current value | 37500 BHD |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2020-01-01 |
| Official source | National Bureau for Revenue (NBR), VAT General Guide, Version 1.13, s.3.2.2: a Bahrain-resident VATable person must register if 'The amount of his annual supplies during the previous 12 months exceeds BHD 37,500; or The amount of his annual supplies to be provided in the next 12 months is expected to exceed BHD 37,500', and for non-residents 'There is no minimum registration threshold for non-resident persons. Making a standard rated supply of BHD 1 to a non-registered customer will result in an obligation to register.' Legal basis: Decree-Law No. 48 of 2018 (VAT Law) and its Executive Regulations, implementing the GCC Unified VAT Agreement (mandatory threshold = SAR 375,000 equivalent; voluntary = half). |
| Last verified | 2026-08-10 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
PERIOD BASIS: a rolling 12-month test, run both backwards and forwards: registration is mandatory when annual supplies in the PREVIOUS 12 months exceed BHD 37,500, or when annual supplies in the NEXT 12 months are EXPECTED to exceed BHD 37,500 (NBR VAT General Guide s.3.2.2). The application window is 30 days from the last day of the month in which the threshold was exceeded, or 30 days before the first day of the month in which it is expected to be exceeded. The count includes zero-rated and standard-rated supplies made in Bahrain, deemed supplies, and goods/services received under the reverse-charge mechanism, but excludes disposals of capital assets. Supplies of related persons are aggregated where a business has been segregated to avoid registration. Voluntary registration is available from BHD 18,750 of annual supplies OR annual expenses (previous or next 12 months); a voluntary registrant must stay registered at least 24 months. VAT ran at 5% from 1 January 2019 and 10% from 1 January 2022 (Decree-Law 33/2021); the thresholds did not change. NON-ESTABLISHED SUPPLIERS: nil threshold. A non-resident VATable person must register as soon as he makes any supply in Bahrain on which VAT arises and no one else is liable to account for it — 'Making a standard rated supply of BHD 1 to a non-registered customer will result in an obligation to register.' Application within 30 days of the first such supply, either directly or through an NBR-approved VAT representative (jointly and severally liable). Where the Bahraini customer is a VAT-registered VATable person, the reverse charge (Guide s.7.3.2) makes the customer account for the VAT and the non-resident is not required to register for that supply. Non-residents cannot deregister voluntarily. IMPORTED DIGITAL SERVICES: no separate regime, portal or threshold — the general rules do the work. B2B: the Bahrain-registered customer self-accounts under the reverse charge. B2C: a non-resident supplying standard-rated digital/electronic services to non-VAT-registered customers in Bahrain must register from the first supply (nil threshold, as above) and charge 10% Bahraini VAT. Traps: (1) The threshold count is wider than turnover: reverse-charge purchases count toward the BHD 37,500, so an import-heavy business can cross it on costs. (2) Zero-rated supplies count toward the threshold, but a person making ONLY zero-rated supplies (and with no reverse-charge liabilities) can apply to the NBR for an exception from registration. (3) Related-persons aggregation defeats splitting one business across entities. (4) The voluntary threshold (BHD 18,750) can be met on expenses alone — useful for pre-trading recovery. (5) BHD 5,000,000 and BHD 500,000 appear in older material: those were 2019 transitional phase-in thresholds only; the steady-state BHD 37,500 test has applied since 1 January 2020 (applications due by 20 December 2019). (6) The rate change to 10% on 2022-01-01 changed nothing about registration. (7) Intra-GCC 'Implementing States' mechanics (adding intra-GCC supplies to the count) are dormant 'until further notice' — do not apply them. (8) Voluntary registration locks you in for 24 months. (9) Retrieval: nbr.gov.bh returns HTTP 403 to non-browser clients; the VAT General Guide PDF must be fetched via a browser session or a mirrored copy (v1.13 verified via mirror on 2026-08-10). (10) The GCC Agreement expresses the threshold as SAR 375,000 equivalent — BHD 37,500 is Bahrain's fixed domestic figure, not a floating FX conversion.
Get it programmatically
curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/bh/vat-registration-threshold
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://asiaref.dev/v1/bh/vat-registration-threshold/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://asiaref.dev/provenance/bh/vat-registration-thresholdOther Bahrain series: CBB Key Policy Rate · Value-added tax (VAT) · Statutory national minimum wage · Official public holidays · Consumer Price Index (latest month) · General corporate income tax rate · Withholding tax rates · Legal interest on commercial debts · Personal income tax · Statutory social-insurance contributions
The same figure elsewhere: Bangladesh · China · Hong Kong · India · Indonesia · all 28