W T S Dhruva Consultants, a leading tax advisor, has been awarded a series of value added tax (VAT) mandates from major UAE businesses across the retail, real estate, insurance, hospitality and energy sectors, the company said.

These wins are in advance of VAT being introduced in the UAE from January 1 and rolling out across the wider GCC in due course, a statement said.

VAT has been set at 5 per cent for businesses generating annual revenues of more than Dh375,000 in the UAE. The tax will apply to almost all goods and services except a few sectors for example specific aspects of education, healthcare treatment etc.

Dinesh Kanabar, CEO of W T S Dhruva Consultants and Dhruva Advisors, commented: “With VAT registration imminent, it is expected that there are nearly 300,000 UAE companies potentially required to comply with new tax legislation.  It is therefore critical that these businesses receive professional advice to ensure their businesses are compliant.”

Pratik Shah, resident partner and VAT expert at W T S Dhruva Consultants, said: “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 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 UAE and wider GCC market”.

W T S Dhruva Consultants is a part of Dhruva Advisors, India. Dhruva Advisors is a boutique tax advisory firm which in a very short span of time has established itself as India’s leading tax firm.
Dhruva Advisors has 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, the statement said. –TradeArabia News Service