Qatar has no national accounting standards of its own. The Income Tax Law requires every company with an activity in Qatar to keep its books under Qatar’s laws and international accounting standards, and to keep them, at its place of business, for ten years. QFC firms and listed companies follow rules that name IFRS outright.
Which accounting standards apply in Qatar
Article 12 of the Income Tax Law (No. 24 of 2018) is the rule most companies meet first. A taxpayer with an activity in Qatar keeps its accounting books, records and documents in line with the laws of the State and international accounting standards, and holds on to them.
The company law points the same way. Under Article 146 of the Commercial Companies Law, the auditor’s report must say whether the company keeps proper accounts and records under internationally accepted accounting rules.
| Who | Rule | What it names |
|---|---|---|
| Any company with an activity in Qatar | Income Tax Law, Art. 12; Executive Regulations, Arts. 34 and 35 | International accounting standards; the standards in force in Qatar |
| Companies with an auditor under the Companies Law | Commercial Companies Law, Art. 146 | Internationally accepted accounting rules |
| Holding companies (consolidated accounts) | Commercial Companies Law, Art. 269 | Approved international accounting and auditing standards |
| Listed issuers | QFMA Offering and Listing Rules 2025 | IAS and IFRS, or other standards the Authority approves |
| QFC firms with a licence for non-regulated activities | QFC General Rule 9.3 | IFRS, US GAAP, UK GAAP, or others the QFC Authority approves in writing |
| QFC authorised (regulated) firms | QFCRA rule GENE 9.3.1; GENE 9.3.2 | IFRS, US GAAP or others approved; AAOIFI standards for Islamic financial institutions |
IFRS in Qatar: what the wording means for a mainland company
For a mainland company, neither the tax law nor the company law uses the letters IFRS. They say international accounting standards: the IAS and IFRS that the International Accounting Standards Board issues. The QFC and the QFMA name IFRS directly.
The framework matters at the year end. Article 34 of the tax regulations asks the auditor to confirm that the accounts follow the accounting standards in force in Qatar. Agree with your auditor at the start of the year which framework the statements will follow, so the books are kept that way from the first entry.
The financial year and the year end
The Income Tax Law takes the calendar year as the tax year. A company may use twelve consecutive months ending on the last day of another month, with the permission of the GTA’s President, and Article 5 makes any accounting period that differs from the tax year subject to the GTA’s approval.
The company law leaves the date to the founding papers. A shareholding company’s articles set a financial year of twelve months, except the first (Art. 182). A general partnership’s contract states when its financial year starts and ends (Art. 23), and an LLC’s memorandum may include rules on its finances and accounts (Art. 231).
Changing the year end
Moving the year end touches both laws. On the tax side, the GTA has to approve the new accounting period before it is used. On the company side, the date sits in the articles or memorandum, so changing it means amending them in the usual way.
| After the year end | What is due | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Within 2 months | LLC managers prepare the balance sheet, profit and loss account and their report | Companies Law, Art. 251 |
| Within 3 months | A public shareholding company’s board prepares the audited statements and its report | Companies Law, Art. 120 |
| Within 4 months | The general assembly meets to approve the accounts | Companies Law, Arts. 123 and 250 |
| Within 4 months | The tax return goes to the GTA, on Dhareeba | Tax Regulations, Art. 29 |
The books and records a company must keep
Article 35 of the tax regulations and Article 22 of the Commercial Law name the same three books as the minimum.
General journal
Every transaction of the business, entered daily and in detail (Commercial Law, Art. 23).
General ledger
The journal entries posted to accounts by type (Art. 24).
Inventory book
The goods on hand at the end of the financial year, and a copy of the year’s balance sheet (Art. 25).
Supporting documents
Invoices, correspondence and the papers behind each entry, with copies of what the company sends out (Art. 27).
The Commercial Law exempts a merchant whose capital is QAR 100,000 or less from its three-book rule. The tax regulations carry no such exemption, so a small company that files a tax return still keeps the books.
Books kept on a computer
Article 35 of the Commercial Law exempts a merchant who runs its records on a computer from the paper-book rules in Articles 22 to 26, and treats the computer records as its commercial books.
The tax regulations allow computer records too, on six conditions, among them that posted entries cannot be changed and that statements of entries are printed every three months. Our article on accounting software sets them out.
How long to keep records, and the penalties
| Records | How long | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Books, records and documents for tax | 10 years after the year they relate to, at the place of business; longer while a dispute about them is open | Tax Regulations, Art. 36 |
| Journal, ledger and inventory book | 10 years from the date they are closed | Commercial Law, Art. 28 |
| Correspondence, invoices and other documents | 5 years under the Commercial Law; the tax rule above still asks for 10 | Commercial Law, Art. 28 |
Records may be stored by an outside firm under contract, but the company remains answerable to the GTA for them and for what they contain. The GTA may release a company from the ten-year rule on request, only if every condition in Article 36 is met.
The conditions for an exemption
There are acceptable reasons that make keeping the records impossible or unusually hard, set out in the request. The tax for that year has been assessed finally and is not in dispute. The return for that year was filed. No loss was recorded in that year or the five years before it. And the GTA’s right to assess the year has lapsed.
- Tax penalty when audited accounts and books are not kept or submitted as required
- QAR 30,000
- Fine under the Commercial Law for not keeping the required books
- QAR 1,000 to 10,000
From Dhareeba’s financial penalties page (Income Tax Law, Art. 24) and Commercial Law Art. 34, checked 26 Oct 2026.
A chart of accounts for a company in Qatar
None of the laws above prescribes a national chart of accounts for a mainland company. Each company designs its own. The practical test is whether the ledger produces, without rework, what the tax return asks for.
The four statements
Financial position, profit or loss, changes in equity and cash flows, with notes (Regs Art. 34).
Fixed assets by class
Article 16 sets maximum tax depreciation rates by class, so record assets in those classes from the start.
Withholding tax and subcontractors
Separate accounts make the two schedules the return needs straightforward to produce.
Related parties
Dealings with owners and group companies, kept apart from other customers and suppliers.
Legal reserve
An LLC sets aside 10% of net profit each year until the reserve reaches half the capital (Companies Law, Art. 262).
The return also needs a schedule that takes the accounting profit to taxable income. Where the tax rules treat a cost differently from the accounts, as with depreciation above the Article 16 rates, a separate account makes that schedule quicker to prepare and easier for the auditor to follow.
How we help
We help you set up a chart of accounts that maps to the tax return, keep the journal, ledger and inventory records each month, and prepare the year-end statements and schedules for your auditor. A registered auditor gives the opinion on them, and the taxpayer or its tax agent files the return.
