On 1 June 2022, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) announced on its website an amnesty scheme and issued the Guideline for amnesty on waiver of penalties.
All taxpayers can avail of the tax amnesty during the next six months starting from 1 June until 30 November 2022.
The taxes covered under the amnesty are Value Added Tax (VAT), Withholding tax, Excise, Income tax, and Real Estate Transaction Tax (RETT). Customs duties are not covered within the scope of the amnesty.
For more information about the amnesty scheme, please refer to Deloitte’s recent alert.
Electronic Invoicing (e-Invoicing) has been live in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) since December 4, 2021. As previously announced, this initiative was structured around two phases:
In respect of the Integration phase, it is anticipated that by 1 July 2022, the ZATCA will invite the first wave of taxpayers to integrate their IT systems with ZATCA’s Fatoora Portal, i.e., six months before the second go-live date of 1 January 2023
The ZATCA released an updated draft of the e-Invoicing Implementation Resolution in Arabic on 27 May 2022. The changes made to the Resolution, annexes, and the related technical specifications will mainly be relevant for this latter phase that will go-live on 1 January 2023. Please note that this Resolution is yet to be published in English.
In addition, the ZATCA announced a public consultation where comments can be submitted up until 10 June 2022. This will allow taxpayers, e-Invoicing service providers, advisors, and other interested parties to provide feedback on the updated draft resolution, annexes, and the related technical specifications.
The Oman Tax Authority (OTA) has published a Value Added Tax (VAT) taxpayer guide in Arabic for Imports and Exports. This guide explains the OTA’s interpretation and guidance on the application of the VAT Law and Executive Regulations relevant to import and export of goods and services.
This guide is critical to businesses which are engaged in the purchase or sale of goods from/to other countries, export and import of services.The guide would also be relevant for group companies having presence in Oman and outside Oman. The guide is available here.
The guide provides guidance on the following topics relating to imports and exports:
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the Governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Republic of India (India) was signed on 18 February 2022 and went into effect on 1 May 2022.
The Agreement shall apply to the parties’ respective territories, including their land territory, territorial waters, and airspace above them, as well as other maritime zones, such as the Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf, over which the parties have sovereignty, sovereign rights, or exclusive jurisdiction, in accordance with their current laws and regulations and applicable international law.
The UAE and India intend to increase bilateral trade from USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion over the next five years as a result of the CEPA; important products that will benefit immediately include oil and gas, petrochemicals, minerals, textiles, agriculture, jewellery and gems, metals, and other.
The CEPA aims to eliminate duties on over 10,000 tariff lines over a ten-year period, and it is likely to have a significant influence on trade between India, the UAE, and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. To reap the benefits, multinational enterprises should look at the CEPA's origin rules.
Companies should view the CEPA to utilize full benefits. Key benefits include the following:
For the full CEPA please refer to the following link.
Dubai Customs has also published a Customs Policy No (54/2022) on the conditions and regulations of implementation of the CEPA between the UAE and India which can be found here.
This digest is for information purposes only and should not be construed as advice. It does not necessarily cover every aspect of the topics with which it deals. You should not act upon the contents of this alert without receiving formal advice on your particular circumstances.