17 - 18 September 2018 | Manama, Bahrain
#gccvatforum

Forum Day: Monday, 9 April 2018

8:30 am - 9:30 am Registration, refreshments and networking

9:30 am - 9:35 am Chairman’s welcome and opening remarks

Nauman   Asif Mian, CFO at Bayt

Nauman Asif Mian

CFO
Bayt

GCC VISION: INSTITUTIONAL UPDATES ON EVOLVING VAT LANDSCAPES

9:35 am - 10:00 am Regulatory VAT update

This session will highlight the vision of the regulatory
framework implemented in the United Arab Emirates and
will offer an unprecedented opportunity for Q&A to allow
the audience to ask questions on pitfalls and gaps that
organisations have encountered in the first 90 days of
implementation.
This exclusive panel will gather some of the top CFOs from
large businesses across the Gulf region to discuss about
how to risk-manage different scenarios in the design and
application of VAT across all business departments
Lindsay Degouve De Nuncques, Head of Middle East at ACCA

Lindsay Degouve De Nuncques

Head of Middle East
ACCA

Roald  Mierop, Head of Indirect Tax at IFFCO

Roald Mierop

Head of Indirect Tax
IFFCO

Ali Bin Mohammed   AlMuwaijei, Senior Vice President of Corporate Support at Dubai South

Ali Bin Mohammed AlMuwaijei

Senior Vice President of Corporate Support
Dubai South

Rajesh Pareek, Group CEO at Musafir

Rajesh Pareek

Group CEO
Musafir

Mahmood  Abdulrahim, Group CFO at Belhasa International Company

Mahmood Abdulrahim

Group CFO
Belhasa International Company

Krishna  Subramanian, CFO at Alfahim

Krishna Subramanian

CFO
Alfahim

Mohamed  Bary, Regional CFO  at Standard Chartered Bank

Mohamed Bary

Regional CFO
Standard Chartered Bank

10:50 am - 11:20 am Networking coffee break

GCC VISION: INSTITUTIONAL UPDATES ON EVOLVING VAT LANDSCAPES


11:20 am - 11:50 am Case study: VAT in the construction industry- an overview on construction and infrastructure projects

The booming construction industry is going to be heavily
affected by VAT. Involving a large number of stakeholders
and taking in account lengthy lead times, this session will
offer an overview on some of the largest construction and
infrastructure projects in the UAE
Mahmood  Abdulrahim, Group CFO at Belhasa International Company

Mahmood Abdulrahim

Group CFO
Belhasa International Company

11:50 am - 12:20 pm Case study: Seamless VAT Implementation in the travel sector

This session will highlight the case of Musafir which has ensured that prices and margins are rebalanced to maintain current
levels of profitability.
Rajesh Pareek, Group CEO at Musafir

Rajesh Pareek

Group CEO
Musafir

12:20 pm - 12:40 pm Case study: navigating VAT uncertainty in large holding groups

This session will feature best practices implemented in large holding groups with diversified portfolios, highlighting the best fiscal frameworks. It will also offer an opportunity to compare different fiscal models across the region. 

Krishna  Subramanian, CFO at Alfahim

Krishna Subramanian

CFO
Alfahim

TROUBLESHOOTING SHARED OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES: LESSONS LEARNT IN THE FIRST 90 DAYS

12:40 pm - 1:40 pm Networking lunch break

1:40 pm - 2:10 pm Preparing for VAT returns

This session will showcase how to minimise mistakes in order to avoid costly penalties for businesses, which are called to pay attention to the implementation of seamless VAT compliant technology, operations, financial management and accounting practices.
David Stevens, VAT Implementation Partner at EY MENA

David Stevens

VAT Implementation Partner
EY MENA

2:10 pm - 2:40 pm VAT impact on intra-GCC trade operations

This session will shed light on the uncertainty related to Reverse Charge Mechanism for intra-GCC imports, where the supplier will pay the VAT in their country of origin, but the local importer will not be allowed to claim the Input Tax.
Jeremy Cape, Tax Partner at Squire Patton Boggs

Jeremy Cape

Tax Partner
Squire Patton Boggs

2:40 pm - 3:25 pm CFOs Panel discussion: lessons learnt and future of corporate roadmaps

This panel will discuss the repercussions that VAT has had
on large companies across the United Arab Emirates and
Saudi Arabia, including pricing, cashflow, financial reporting,
tax accounting, supply chain and compliance processes.
Mazdak Rafaty, Managing Partner at LIC Consulting

Mazdak Rafaty

Managing Partner
LIC Consulting

3:25 pm - 4:10 pm Q&A session: Opening the floor to the audience for sectorspecific questions

This exclusive technical session will offer the opportunity to the audience who have questions that remain unanswered to get feedback from a consultant on the following issues: systems, audit files, returns and free zones regulations.

4:10 pm - 4:15 pm Chairman’s closing remarks

4:15 pm - 5:00 pm Surgery sessions

These exclusive sector-specific surgery sessions will offer the audience one-to-one time with consultants to clear VAT-related doubts in a 45-minute format. We recommend delegates to submit two questions each ahead of the forum in order for trainers to be prepared.
The published programme is correct at time of printing. However, given the seniority of our speakers and the nature of their roles, speakers may subsequently substitute or remove themselves from the programme. This is always regrettable, and we will always try to replace the speaker with a speaker with equivalent insight.