UAE Economic Substance Regulations Compliances/Requirements due by 31 March 2021

In December 2017, UAE was included in the list of ‘non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes’ as published by the European Union Code of Conduct Group (EU Blacklist).

In response to this, and based on guidance from OECD, UAE introduced Economic Substance Regulations in April 2019 and was consequently removed from the EU Blacklist. The Regulations have since been amended and revised guidance and FAQs have been issued.

Considering the impending compliance deadline of 31 March 2021 for filing Economic substance reports for the year ended 31 March 2020, KPMG in India hosted a webinar led by Himanshu Parekh, Partner and Head, Corporate and International Tax, KPMG in India, Nilesh Ashar, International Tax Partner, KPMG Lower Gulf and Neha Jain, Senior Manager, International Tax, KPMG Lower Gulf.

This session was relevant for all companies having presence in UAE (whether in form of subsidiaries, branches, or representative offices), in particular for entities with financial year ended 31 March 2020. We will provide an overview of the Regulations, and more importantly discuss certain practical issues which businesses may face as they look to satisfy the economic substance tests and collate information for the reporting requirements.