On 2 November 2020, the Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) conducted a sessions on Cabinet Resolution No. 44 of 2020 with respect to the country-by-country (CbC) reporting requirements for multinational enterprise (MNE) groups headquartered or operating in the UAE.

The MOF also provided a demonstration of the new CbC reporting portal with the publication of new guidance on the preparation and submission of CbC reports. The guidance includes CbC reports and CbC notifications should be submitted on the new CbC reporting portal.

Key issues of the session:

  • The ultimate parent entity of MNE groups with headquarter in the UAE and consolidated group revenue of more than AED 3.15 billion in the previous year must file the CbC report and notification in the UAE for years beginning on or after 1 January 2019. 
  • There are no longer compliance requirements for the UAE constituent entities of non-UAE headquartered MNE groups, effective for years beginning on or after 1 January 2019. 
  • The CbC report must be submitted in OECD compliant XML Schema 2.0 format. 
  • The CbC report should be filed within 12 months from the end of the reporting year of the MNE Group. With respect to the financial year commencing on 1 January 2019 and ending by 31 December 2019, the CbC Report should be filed no later than 31 December 2020.
  • The deadline for the MOF to exchange information related to CbC report with other jurisdictions for the 2019 fiscal year is 30 June 2021.
  • The new CbC portal is active now. For entities that have already submitted notifications, all required information from such notifications will be migrated to the new CbC portal.
  • Any entity that did not submit a notification for the fiscal year ending on 31 December 2019 will be required to register on the new CbC portal. 
  • Constituent entities will be required to re-file their CbC notification for 2019 fiscal year as the previous notification cannot be migrated to the new portal. The notification must be filed on the new portal prior to submitting the CbC report for the 2019 fiscal year.
  • The CbC notification for the fiscal year 2019 must be resubmitted on the new portal. 
  • The CbC notification for the fiscal year 2020 must be submitted on or before 31 December 2020.