Dubai: International Financial Centre Issues Common Reporting Standard Law Amendments

Dubai’s Ruler has issued amendments to the Dubai International Financial Centre’s Common Reporting Standard Law (DIFC Law No. 2/2018). The amendments were contained in the Common Reporting Standard Law Amendment Law, DIFC Law No. 6/2020. They came into force on 16 August 2020. The Board of Directors of the DIFC Authority also issued new Common Reporting Standard Regulations which came into force on 30 July 2020. The aim of the amendments is to ensure the Common Reporting Standard issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development is properly adopted in the DIFC and is applied consistently across the UAE. The amendments also introduce offences and penalties for providing false self-certifications and offences and penalties for financial institutions failing to obtain valid self-certifications. They also formally adopt the explanatory material issued and published by the OECD for the purpose of assisting with the interpretation of the Common Reporting Standards and there are other miscellaneous enhancements.

UAE: Services and Purchases Made on Online Shopping Sites Are Now Subject to 5% VAT

The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority has confirmed all services and purchases made on online shopping sites are subject to 5% VAT. The purchases will have to be made in line with special conditions and controls which govern the tax treatment applicable to those supplies. The tax is imposed on the actual use of these services. Many of the general tax rules apply to e-commerce transactions in line with the existing rules.

Ajman: New Free Zone Incentives

The President of Ajman Free Zone has announced eight new incentives designed to support existing and new companies in the free zone during the second half of 2020. The incentives will include a wide range of deductions and exemptions. The incentives include a full exemption for returned cheques fines, cheques replacement fines, license renewal fees, and a 100% exemption on fees to guarantee participation in smart services. During the second half of the year existing and new companies in the free zone will also have the opportunity to benefit from a wide range of flexible instalments plans for a period of three months when renting a business centre, and flexible instalments for a period of six months when renting offices, executive offices or warehouses, and a 25% discount on workers’ housing fees.

Dubai: Economic Programme for Post COVID Recovery Announced

The Dubai Government has partnered with the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) to launch the Great Economic Reset Programme as part of its post COVID-19 initiative. The programme will include analysis of current and future policies, research and extensive stakeholder consultation to set the direction and tone of future economic policies, regulations and initiatives. A Virtual Policy Council will propose the best approaches Dubai and the UAE can adopt to address the risks and opportunities in the new normal economy.

Abu Dhabi: Mandatory Covid-19 Testing for all Tourism Staff

In line with the ‘Go Safe’ certification programme spearheaded by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), regular Covid-19 testing has been made mandatory for all tourism sector staff. DCT Abu Dhabi inspectors have checked 165 hotels and 450 restaurants and conducted over 700 inspections over a one month period

LexisNexis MENA and DIFC Academy Strengthen Strategic Partnership with the Launch of Two New Technology Initiatives

Dubai, UAE, 29 July 2020 – LexisNexis MENA and the DIFC Academy are strengthening their strategic partnership with two new initiatives: “The Annual Technology Adoption Index” and “The Legal Tech Glossary.”

These projects follow five years of fruitful collaboration, including the publication of the official DIFC Law Commentaries and Law Reports book collections. Through a joint training programme, LexisNexis MENA and the DIFC Academy have co-hosted hundreds of courses and trained thousands of legal practitioners in all areas of law.

Annual Index: The first edition of the Annual Index of Technology Adoption in Dubai’s Legal Industry will be published in October 2020. The index will measure the implementation of legal technology within law firms and in-house legal teams, and will be updated annually.

The Legal Tech Glossary: In order to increase awareness of the impact of machine learning, smart contracts, and technology tools on the practice of law in Dubai, key terms and concepts will be defined and made accessible.

Alya Al Zarouni, Executive Vice President of Operations and Head of DIFC Academy, DIFC Authority said: “During the last five years, DIFC Academy and LexisNexis have collaborated on projects which support the continued professional development for legal practitioners within and outside the Centre. It is more important than ever to prioritise technology and innovation in order to effectively increase financial and legal sector diversification and contribute to a competitive knowledge-based economy. We look forward to working in closer co-operation with LexisNexis to drive the legal sector adoption of technology and innovation.”

“We are very proud to have built the largest legal and tax information platform in the region. The Lexis(r) Middle East solution has revolutionized access to the law for all practitioners. LexisNexis is also a major global player in LegalTech and we believe that artificial intelligence will continue to have a big impact on the practice of law in the years ahead. Our strengthened partnership with the DIFC Academy will enable us to better understand local market trends and facilitate access to knowledge for the entire legal community in Dubai. It is an honour for us to have the confidence of a prestigious and influential player such as the DIFC Academy,” said Guillaume Deroubaix, Managing Director of LexisNexis Middle East and North Africa.

The objective of the partnership is to strengthen the services and the sharing of knowledge offered to the legal community in Dubai in the next few years in order to bring it to the level of excellence that Dubai’s standards require.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics that helps customers increase productivity, improve decision-making and outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world.

The company combines information and analytics to help lawyers manage their work more efficiently, serve their clients better and grow their practices and assists corporations in better understanding their markets.

LexisNexis is a part of RELX Group, serving customers in more than 130 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide. The company’s information network contains 3 petabytes of legal and news data with 65 billion documents.

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Abu Dhabi Global Market Issues Commercial Licensing Regulations 2015 (Exemptions) Order 2020

The Abu Dhabi Global Market Board have issued the Commercial Licensing Regulations 2015 (Exemptions) Order 2020. The Order grants an exemption from commercial licensing for certain classes of entities which are licensed in the UAE, outside the Global Market. The exemption applies in particular to temporary service providers in transportation like scooter rentals, delivery services and pick up or drop off services.