Indian consultancy agency wins GCC VAT mandates in several sectors

Business Monday 11/September/2017 15:14 PM
By: Times News Service
Indian consultancy agency wins GCC VAT mandates in several sectors

Muscat: W T S Dhruva Consultants said it has been awarded a series of value added tax (VAT) mandates from major Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) businesses across the retail, real estate, insurance, hospitality and energy sectors.
These wins are in advance of VAT, which has been set at 5 per cent for businesses generating annual revenues of approximately more than $100,000 and going live in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia from January 1, 2018 and rolling out across the wider GCC in due course. The tax will apply to almost all goods and services except a few sectors, for example, specific aspects of education and healthcare treatment.
“With VAT imminent, it is critical that these businesses receive professional advice to ensure their businesses are compliant,” said Dinesh Kanabar, chief executive officer of W T S Dhruva Consultants and Dhruva Advisors.
“VAT will impact every aspect of a business from finance, human resources, IT and systems through to sales and marketing as VAT is levied at every stage of the supply chain. VAT does not only pose challenges, but is also an opportunity for the organisation to redesign certain aspects of business to mitigate tax exposure at the same time being compliant under the law.
Additionally, new in-house company tax processes will also need to be introduced to support ongoing commitments, such as compliance, periodic VAT returns potential refunds as and when appropriate. With our unique model of partner-led advice, these are exactly the types of services and support we provide, which can have major commercial and competitive benefits for businesses that are properly prepared. We expect to double our staff to cater for significant demand from the GCC market,” added Pratik Shah, resident partner and VAT expert at W T S Dhruva Consultants.
Dhruva Advisors was recently been named the ‘Indian Tax Firm of the Year’ by Euromoney, and W T S Global has been named ‘Best Indirect Tax Firm’ at the European Tax Awards.