Indonesia, GCC announce launch of FTA negotiations
Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, Zulkifli Hasan, and Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, launched the Indonesia-GCC Free Trade Agreement (I-GCC FTA) negotiations on 31 July, 2024. The event was marked
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UK: Talks on Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council
On 22 August 2022, UK and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) negotiating teams met for the first round of negotiations on a free trade agreement. The talks are expected to continue for around two weeks and cover all areas of the FTA focusing on the main
See MoreQatar: New VAT regime will come from January 1, 2019
As a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member state, Qatar is expected to introduce a harmonized VAT regime with a standard rate of 5% VAT from January 1, 2019. The introduction of VAT will be a positive step for the country as Qatari firms and
See MoreGulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia and UAE to implement VAT
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are to introduce value added tax (VAT) from 1 January 2018 at a rate of 5%. Their new VAT systems will be in line with the terms of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Unified VAT Agreement. Four other
See MoreBahrain: Cabinet approves draft law regarding excise tax
The Cabinet approved a draft-law on ratifying the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) unified selective excise tax on unhealthy drinks on 16th October 2017. The Cabinet has endorsed an excise tax bill that would impose a 100% tax on tobacco products,
See MoreUAE: Penalties for noncompliance with VAT Law
The Council of Ministers adopted new fines and penalty fees for non-compliance with Value Added Tax (VAT) Law on October 2, 2017. These fines are imposed on businesses that don’t follow the new rules. Penalties for failing to follow to tax laws
See MoreUAE: Excise tax on tobacco, energy and soft drinks enters into effect
The Ministry of Finance was published the implementing regulations to the Excise Tax Law. This Excise Tax Law regarding production of excise goods in the UAE, import of excise goods in the UAE, release of excise goods from a designated zone and
See MoreUAE: President issues VAT Decree Law
The President of the United Arab Emirates, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, issued Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 for Value-Added Tax (VAT) on August 28, 2017. This is a primary step for implementing VAT in the UAE as of January 2018. The
See MoreGCC develops VAT and excise tax framework
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) finance ministers held an extraordinary meeting on 16th June in Jeddah and approved in principle VAT and excise tax treaties. In order to keep pace with the changing economic landscape and through extensive
See MoreQatar: Cabinet approves draft law on income tax and VAT
On 3 May 2017 the Prime Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani chaired the Cabinet's ordinary meeting. During its ordinary meeting, the Cabinet approved a draft law on income tax and some of its draft executive regulations. A
See MoreUAE: Information regarding proposed VAT regime reveals
The Finance Ministry (MoF) presented a value added tax (VAT) briefing session for advisors on 21st March 2017. The session expected to send a message to the market that VAT is approaching and businesses must start to prepare immediately. The
See MoreQatar: Draft law on selective tax on goods approved
The Finance Ministry has prepared the draft law in accordance with the GCC unified agreement for selective tax, and the GCC Supreme Council decision recently issued in the 37th session held in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The decision specifies the
See MoreUAE: Planning to introduce VAT by 2018
During the World Government Summit Ministry of Finance officials from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced they are to implement VAT by 1st January 2018. Also, the Finance Undersecretary has reiterated the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member
See MoreBahrain-GCC: VAT Framework Agreement signed by Bahraini Finance Minister
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) VAT Framework Agreement has been signed by the Bahraini Finance Minister on 1st February 2017. This agreement imposes 5% VAT on the supply of in the GCC region. But this rate will be not applicable on particular
See MoreBahrain-GCC: Excise Taxes Framework Agreement signed by Bahraini Finance Minister
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Excise Taxes Framework Agreement has been signed by the Bahraini Finance Minister on 1st February 2017. Bahrain is planning to introduce Excise Tax by mid-2017. The excise levies will be 50% on soft drinks and a
See MoreGCC: Free Trade Agreement With Singapore Enters Into Force
Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore has entered into force on January 01, 2015. The GCC comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and Singapore jointly announced the
See MoreGCC: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Recommends Diversifying Tax Bases of the States of Gulf Cooperation Council
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended diversifying tax bases of the states of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It wants GCC to diversify the tax bases from their heavy reliance on oil revenues. The heavy reliance on oil revenue can
See MoreGCC average salaries in 2015 are set to rise 5% as per latest pay forecast
Salaries of GCC countries are set to rise next year as per the pay forecast of Hay Group, the global management consultancy. The forecast is based on over 1,600 organizations representing 1 million employees in the GCC countries. It shows that the
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