Gulf Business VAT seminar in partnership with SKP Business Consulting

With the country being a few days away from implementing one of the most transformational business regulations, Gulf Business conducted an informative event at the Capital Club, DIFC in Dubai along with SKP as their knowledge partners to delve into the intricacies of the UAE VAT Law.

The event hosted senior management participants from various industries, who had queries with regards to VAT’s implications on their business. Bhadresh Vyas, associate director for indirect tax at SKP, began the session by highlighting the key points of the UAE VAT Law such as registrations, computation of tax liability, rate of supply, place of supply, payments, etc.

The event progressed into an interactive discussion as Jigar Doshi, partner for indirect tax at SKP, enlightened the audience of the VAT impact on different industries and how crucial it is for businesses to assess its impact on working capital, cash flows, IT systems upgrades, reviewing existing contracts and setting up compliance management.

The intensity spiked further when questions concerning the impact of VAT and dealings between onshore and free zone companies were discussed.

Author and SKP indirect tax expert Pritam Mahure, who penned the book UAE VAT – Things you must know, followed Jigar’s session and discussed VAT compliance obligations and challenges in a post-VAT scenario for businesses to gear up with adequate processes and resources.

Umang Someshwar, associate director at SKP, moderated the panel discussion towards the end that included speakers Shiraz Khan – a senior tax advisor – and Geoff Finlayson – finance director at Al Tamimi.

The panellists addressed various industry related concerns including strategies to be VAT compliant and explained how to turn the VAT transition challenge into an opportunity to make business more process driven and transparent.

The active participation of the audience and insights of the speakers enabled the attendees to gain a much better understanding of VAT and the opportunities available for businesses in the new indirect tax regime.