Source: https://rivet.global/blog/bahrain-vat-exports-of-services-zero-rating
Published: 2026-10-10 · Updated: 2026-10-10 · By William Sunjo M.

# Bahrain VAT and exports of services: when sales to foreign clients are zero-rated

Bahrain's VAT rate has been 10 percent since 2022. When services to clients outside Bahrain are zero-rated, what evidence the NBR expects, and invoice wording.

## Key takeaways

- Bahrain's standard VAT rate is 10 percent, in force since 1 January 2022.
- Services supplied to a customer without a place of residence in Bahrain or another GCC implementing state, and used outside, can be zero-rated as exports.
- The NBR expects evidence: the customer's location, the contract and proof the service was used abroad.
- The invoice states the zero rate and the reason.

A Manama compliance consultancy invoices a fintech in London BHD 9,400 for a regulatory review. Its first draft invoice adds 10 percent VAT. Its accountant removes it: the service is an export, zero-rated under Bahrain's VAT law, provided the file shows the client is abroad and the service was used there.

## Bahrain VAT

Bahrain introduced VAT in 2019 at 5 percent and raised the standard rate to 10 percent from 1 January 2022. The National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) administers it.

## Exports of services

A service can be zero-rated as an export when:

- the customer has no place of residence in Bahrain or another GCC implementing state, and
- the service is used or benefited from outside Bahrain and those states,

along with other conditions in the law and the NBR's guides. Services connected to property in Bahrain, or used in Bahrain, do not qualify.

## The evidence

Keep for each foreign client:

1. The contract, naming the client and its address abroad.
2. The client's registration details.
3. The invoice, showing 0 percent VAT and the reason.
4. Evidence that the service was used outside Bahrain, such as deliverables sent abroad.

## GCC clients are a separate question

Services to clients in Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Oman are not automatically exports in the same way, because GCC rules treat supplies between implementing states differently. Check each case.

## Collecting payment

The Bahraini dinar is pegged to the dollar. A London client pays in pounds or dollars by international transfer, which can arrive late and short. Sterling details let a UK client pay by Faster Payments; US details let a US client pay by ACH.

## Paying into Bahrain: the local rail

| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Local rail | Fawri+ instant transfers (Fawri for larger same-day transfers) |
| Run by | BENEFIT, under the Central Bank of Bahrain |
| Settlement | Fawri+ in seconds, 24/7; Fawri within the business day |

Source: [BENEFIT: Fawri and Fawri+](https://www.benefit.bh/). Checked when this guide was last updated; the scheme's own page has the current figures.

## Where Rivet fits

A Rivet business account accepts registered companies after verification, including Bahraini companies, subject to local rules. Approved companies get US account details on every plan and sterling and euro details from the Growth plan, in their own name. Payments are matched to invoices, which keeps export evidence together. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds.

## Questions

### What is Bahrain's VAT rate?

10 percent since 1 January 2022, up from 5 percent when VAT was introduced in 2019.

### When are services to foreign clients zero-rated?

When the customer has no place of residence in Bahrain or another GCC implementing state, and the service is used or benefited from outside those states, subject to conditions in the law.

### What evidence should I keep?

The contract, the customer's address and registration details, the invoice and evidence that the service was used outside Bahrain.

### Do services to Saudi or UAE clients count as exports?

Not automatically. GCC rules on services between implementing states differ. Check the treatment with your adviser.