For most of the last two decades, establishing in the UAE was primarily a licensing exercise. The introduction of corporate tax changed that. Entity choice, freezone qualification, substance, related party pricing and the Indian shareholder position now interact directly, and a structure that is convenient to incorporate is frequently expensive to operate.
Work in this practice is delivered under the same operating standard that applies across the firm. The compliance calendar is mapped at the outset and driven by us, positions involving judgement are documented with the authority relied upon at the time they are taken, and nothing is filed or issued without an independent internal review by someone other than the preparer.
Where a matter touches another practice area, and most do, it is handled inside the same file rather than referred outward. That is the point of holding these disciplines together.
Common questions
Is a freezone company automatically exempt from UAE corporate tax?
No, and the assumption has become expensive. Qualifying freezone person status depends on the nature of the income and on meeting substance conditions, and it needs to be assessed rather than presumed.
Can you handle both the Indian and UAE side of the structure?
Yes. That is the reason the desk exists. Formation, corporate tax, VAT and the Indian shareholder position are advised together so the outcomes reconcile before incorporation rather than after.
Other practice areas
Direct Tax Advisory
Corporate and personal direct tax managed as a continuous cycle rather than a year end scramble. We prepare the computation, make the filing, and defend the position taken.
IIInternational Taxation and Transfer Pricing
For groups whose value crosses a border, exposure is decided by structure long before it is decided by filing. We advise at the structuring stage and defend the position afterwards.
IIIGST and Indirect Tax
GST rewards businesses that reconcile continuously and penalises those that reconcile annually. We run it as a monthly discipline with the audit trail built as we go.
Speak to the uae desk practice
Tell us what is outstanding and what deadline you are working to. We will tell you what needs to happen and in what order.
Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001, India
+91 98XXX XXXXX