UK: Talks on Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council

August 24, 2022

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

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Qatar: New VAT regime will come from January 1, 2019

March 15, 2018

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

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Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia and UAE to implement VAT

December 29, 2017

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

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Bahrain: Cabinet approves draft law regarding excise tax

November 14, 2017

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,

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UAE: Penalties for noncompliance with VAT Law

October 15, 2017

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

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UAE: Excise tax on tobacco, energy and soft drinks enters into effect

October 02, 2017

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

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UAE: President issues VAT Decree Law

August 30, 2017

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

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GCC develops VAT and excise tax framework

July 05, 2017

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

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Qatar: Cabinet approves draft law on income tax and VAT

May 06, 2017

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

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UAE: Information regarding proposed VAT regime reveals

March 23, 2017

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

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Qatar: Draft law on selective tax on goods approved

February 20, 2017

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

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UAE: Planning to introduce VAT by 2018

February 20, 2017

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

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Bahrain-GCC: VAT Framework Agreement signed by Bahraini Finance Minister

February 05, 2017

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

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Bahrain-GCC: Excise Taxes Framework Agreement signed by Bahraini Finance Minister

February 05, 2017

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

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GCC: Free Trade Agreement With Singapore Enters Into Force

January 08, 2015

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

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GCC: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Recommends Diversifying Tax Bases of the States of Gulf Cooperation Council

January 01, 2015

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

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GCC average salaries in 2015 are set to rise 5% as per latest pay forecast

October 25, 2014

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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Gulf States FTA with EFTA states has been entered into force from 1 July 2014

July 04, 2014

The FTA between the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and EFTA states like Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland has been effective

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