OCCI’s seminar to focus on VAT implementation
Times News Service
MUSCAT: The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) will launch the first specialised seminar on Tuesday, which is part of the annual programme for Umsiyat, an initiative promoted by the OCCI board of directors for 2018-2022.
The seminar will be held under the theme “Value Added Tax (VAT), the reasons, aims and possible effects on economy and development.” The seminar aims at highlighting the government trend to implement VAT.
The speakers will highlight the importance of implementation, the pros and cons, as well as the socio-economic effects on the Sultanate. A number of experts, officials and specialists will take part in the seminar organised in cooperation with a number of relevant public and private organisations.
The seminar will host Dr Saleh bin Said Musin, Head of the Economic and Financial Committee, at Majlis Al Shura, and Ahmed al Makhini from the Capital Market Authority (CMA). The seminar will cover a number of themes, the most important being ascertaining the reasons that led to the government applying the tax, as well as the economic and social benefits from its application.
It will also discuss the special effects on the final consumer and limited income people and will also check the readability of various stakeholders (the government, the private sector and the final consumer) for its application. Abdul Azeem bin Abbas Al Bahrani, CEO of OCCI, said, “The current OCCI board chaired by Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef adopted these seminars with an updated vision compared to the previous OCCI Ramadan Evening. The seminars will be held regularly throughout the year to discuss the hot issues of the day which affect the business and economic environment in the Sultanate.”
“The seminars aim at coming out with novel, practical and implementable solutions to the challenges facing the Omani economy. They also highlight the possible effects of such challenges and issues on the growth of the national economy,” he added. He said that issues to be discussed will be selected carefully and will highlight the challenges facing businessmen and investors. Necessary consideration will be given to the peculiarity of the Omani society and private sector.
The Evenings will focus on coming out with a common vision towards solutions for the problems facing the Omani private sector and the possibility of coordination with the relevant organisations to address this issue.
He added that the Evenings target all those interested in the business and economic affairs of the Sultanate, as well as OCCI members and the public. The Evenings come as part of the efforts made by OCCI to enhance its relationship with its partners and to promote governance.