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In our January 2024 edition of GT’s regional monthly Tax Newsletter, we provide the latest news updates affecting International Tax, Corporate Tax, Transfer Pricing, and Indirect Taxes in the UAE and across the Middle East region.

The Consumer Protection Regulation “CPR” issued by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates “CBUAE” on December 31, 2020, mandated that Licensed Financial Institutions (LFI’s) must adhere to the CPR and the related Consumer Protection Standards (CPS). As a consequence, there will be increased scrutiny on LFIs to meet the regulatory expectations across key controls of conduct risk.

While the UAE Corporate Tax (CT) law is effective from 1 June 2023, for numerous businesses that follow a December financial year end, the application of the UAE CT commenced on 1 January 2024.

The Food and Beverage (F&B) sector has continued to grow and show resilience to macro-economic headwinds in 2023, evidenced by strong deal flow and capital raisings in the UAE and broader GCC. Following on from our Q1 2023 update, we are delighted to share our latest F&B edition, summarising key themes, issues and activity in the sector.

In our December 2023 edition of GT’s Monthly Tax Newsletter, you can read the latest news updates affecting International Tax, Transfer Pricing and Indirect Tax in the UAE and across the GCC Region.

Air freight terminals in the GCC region serve as pivotal cargo hubs in the global logistics industry. Situated at the crossroads of major international trade routes, these state-of-the-art facilities are critical for the efficient movement of goods across the world. With a focus on innovation, infrastructure development and strategic positioning, the GCC’s cargo terminals have emerged as vital links in the global supply chain.

With close to six years since the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), businesses have witnessed amendments through changes in VAT Laws, Executive Regulations and the Tax Procedures Laws at a regular interval.

Following on from Part 1 of our ‘Ten-Point Guide to Selling your Business’ publication, which covered an overview of the key steps to be considered to achieve a favourable outcome in a sales process, we are pleased to introduce Part 2 of the series, where we focus on the Preparing for Sale stage.

There have been recent amendments to the VAT Laws, VAT Executive Regulations and the Tax Procedures Laws -an important amendment amongst others is the Emirate-wise VAT reporting applicable to businesses engaged in electronic supplies. This amendment is effective from 1 July 2023 and applies to VAT returns to be filed for the period beginning on or after this date.

The regional logistics sector has had a positive start to 2023, primarily driven by a stable macro-economic environment, proactive government policies, increasing demand for logistics services and growing investor confidence in the sector's long-term potential. As a result of these factors, the sector continues to see increasing levels of deal activity, with many high-profile acquisitions, partnerships, and collaborations taking place.

Following the UAE’s Mutual Evaluation, The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and it’s MENA chapter placed the UAE on the list of “Jurisdictions Under Increasing Monitoring” or the “Grey List” in March 2022.

Deciding whether to exit your business can feel overwhelming. Prior to commencing on an intensive, but ultimately rewarding journey and to help you navigate through the process, we have prepared an illustrative ten-point guide which explains what is involved in a typical sales process.

Launching an IPO is one of the most significant corporate transactions a company will enter into during its lifecycle. Many companies aspire to be public as it is often seen as the pinnacle of achievement for the growth of the company by its founders.

The logistics sector has had a positive start to 2023, primarily driven by a stable macro-economic environment, proactive government policies, increasing demand for logistics services due to the growth of e-commerce, technological advancements, and growing investor confidence in the sector's long-term potential.

The UAE Ministry of Finance has issued Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 on Small Business Relief for the Purposes of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses.

M&A continued to prosper in the first five months of 2022 after a record-breaking year in 2021, although the 16 June 2022 US Federal Reserve Bank interest rate increase coupled with increased macroeconomic uncertainty marked a significant turning point for the global deal market.