VAT payments also due on excess, unsold goods
VAT shall be levied on all transactions in a supply chain, even if the revenue of products or services is not in fact sought after or realised
MUSCAT: Value added tax is due on excess stocks of goods that have been bought by companies to be sold to customers, even if they remain in storage once that company has ceased operations, a legal expert in the country has said.
VAT is expected to come into Oman on April 18, 2021, and companies that are liable to pay this tax are required to register before then.
“VAT shall be levied on all transactions in a supply chain, even if the revenue of products or services is not in fact sought after or realised,” said Ola Al Nabhani, a legal consultant at BK Law, a judicial firm in the country. “This includes the storage of products after one has ended or stopped conducting his commercial activity. It also includes products and services provided for free.”
“However, goods and services provided by commercial organisations as gifts are exempt from taxation,” she added, speaking to TTV. “Unless specifically exempt by law, VAT applies to almost all products and services. You must know that as a commercial trader, whether you are engaged in marketing, distribution, manufacturing, or retail, you should budget for this tax.”
The imposition of value added tax in Oman was passed into law through the issue of the Royal Decree 121/2020 – Promulgating the Value Added Tax Law.
“VAT is calculated as five per cent of the total price of any given commodity or service. Being an indirect tax, those who have to pay tax if they are a part of the supply chain can claim a reimbursement,” explained Al Nabhani. “Consumers, however, are not entitled to one, because they are the end point of the supply chain.”
“Indirect taxes such as VAT are collected from consumers, be it at retail outlets, malls, or any other entities organised in the sale of goods and services,” she added, once again reminding those who are required to pay VAT to register well in advance of it coming into practice in the country.
VAT rates applied in the Sultanate are among the lowest in the world. With this tax being applied across more than 160 countries, global rates range between five and 27 per cent. The application of VAT will have a positive impact on economic and social development and the international competitiveness levels of the Sultanate, while strengthening its financial position.
Sustainable economy
This will help contribute to building a sustainable economy, as the tax collected will provide additional financial resources for the state that will enable it to improve public services, and help with continued development of infrastructure in the future.
Basic food commodities, goods and services related to medical care, goods and services pertaining to education, and items used by people with disabilities are all exempt from tax.
Furthermore, there will be no VAT added to sales deals involving residential real estate and vacant, undeveloped land.
VAT will also not be imposed on investments in gold, silver and platinum, as well as companies involved in supplying or operating vehicles that transport goods and passengers, by land, sea or air.
Companies involved in the supply of rescue and emergency service aircraft and other vehicles, as well as those operating in supplying crude oil and its derivatives, and natural gas, will also not need to pay VAT.
Goods and services provided by commercial organisations as gifts are exempt from taxation, according to a legal consultant
NAYPYITAW: Violence escalated in Myanmar on Monday as authorities continued to crack down on people protesting against the military coup that took place on February 1.
Witnesses reported that two protesters were killed and several injured as police opened fire in the northern town of Myitkyina.
Police fired tear gas at a crowd of around 1,000 in the capital, Naypyitaw. Thousands of protesters abandoned a march in the city of Mandalay over fears of violence by security forces.
General strike in Myanmar
The latest demonstrations followed an appeal by trade unions for mass walkouts to bring the economy to a standstill.
At least nine unions from a range of sectors, including construction, agriculture and manufacturing, said that “all Myanmar people” should stop work in order to reverse the military coup. They also called for the restoration of the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The time to take action in defense of our democracy is now,” the unions said in a statement. It added that allowing economic activity to continue as usual would help the military “as they repress the energy of the Myanmar people.”
More than 50 killed in protests
The country has been in a state of turmoil since last month’s coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power, sparking mass protests against the military junta.
Protests are being held almost daily nationwide despite the use of deadly force by security forces.
Authorities have responded with an increasingly brutal crackdown on protesters. According to UN figures, more than 50 people have been killed and nearly 1,800 arrested.
Myanmar’s military generals have shown no sign of listening to calls for restraint despite mounting international pressure, including targeted sanctions by Western powers.
LONDON: Harry Kane and Gareth Bale scored two goals each to register a fourth straight win as Tottenham Hotspur defeated Crystal Palace 4-1 on Sunday (local time).
Bale put Tottenham in front before the visitors equalised through Christian Benteke on the stroke of half-time, but Spurs quickly opened up a 3-1 lead early in the second period through Bale and Kane. Kane also assisted both of Bale’s goals. Spurs were on the front foot right from the start and deservedly went ahead in the 25th minute. Lucas Moura did superbly well to win the ball from Luka Milivojevic 30 yards from the Palace goal and find Kane down the left who rolled the ball across the sixyard box for Bale to tap home at the far post.
It was a commanding first-half display although the Eagles had a spell of pressure late in the half and looked to have seen out the danger only for the visitors to score with 10 seconds of the period remaining when Benteke powered a header past Hugo Lloris. It was their first attempt on target and only the second touch in the box during the first period.
Tottenham made a great start to the second half with two goals inside the opening seven minutes. Bale put the side back in front on 49 minutes, beating Cheikhou Kouyate in the air to head past Guaita for his sixth goal in six games. And it got even better three minutes later with a fabulous Kane goal, hitting Matt Doherty’s pass with a first-time right-foot curler from 25 yards to the right of the area which dipped over the Palace goalkeeper and into the top corner.
The visitors almost reduced the deficit in the 69th minute when
Wilfried Zaha struck the post with a low 20-yard drive but the home side wrapped up the points six minutes later when Heung-Min Son squared for Kane to nod into an empty net.
It was a significant goal as it marked the 14th time the two players have combined for a Premier League goal this campaign, a new record for a single season in the competition.
Tottenham sits at sixth place with 45 points and will next take on Arsenal in the Premier League on March 14.
MUSCAT: Sri Lanka Embassy in the Sultanate along with the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka (EDB) organised an introductory webinar meeting in association with Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) with a view to connecting Sri Lankan and Omani Information and Communications Technology/ Business Process Management (ICT/BPM) sector companies.
Opening the webinar, the Director-General of the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka, Chitranjali Dissanayake, said Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, Ameer Ajwad, had stated that the Information and Communications Technology (lCT) has emerged today as the most vital means of both resolving challenges and responding to the new reality.
The COVID-19 crisis has triggered the need to further enhance international collaboration in this sector. He also pointed out that since Sri Lanka and Oman have identified the ICT sector as the key priority in their national policy framework, ICT/BPM companies in both countries could find synergies for collaboration. To this end, the ambassador informed that the Embassy would organise B2B webinar meetings between the ICT/ BPM companies of both countries
in the near future.
He further stated that as the Ouran ICT sector emphasises innovation-driven solutions, Sri Lankan companies could leverage their experiences gained from the projects such as Smart Cities, Special Economic Zones, Tourism, and Telecommunication projects.
Sri Lankan ICT/BPM companies could also offer IT solutions
for the Omani banking sector, aerospace, defence, stock exchange and so on. Welcoming this initiative, Director, Business Development of KOM, Saif Hamdan Al Riyami, provided with a briefing on the ICT/BPM industry at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat having Oman’s first and most successful tech park and hosting over 190 future-focused domestic, regional
and global companies, institutions and organisations.
Assistant Director, Export Services of the EDB Vajira Kularathne introduced the ICT/BPM industry in Sri Lanka followed by presentations from industry experts. While BPM/KPM sector opportunities in Sri Lanka were introduced by SLASSCOM (Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services
Companies) Director Shiraz Lye, IT sector opportunities in Sri Lanka were introduced by FITIS (The Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka) Director, Theekshana Kumara.
Sri Lankan ICT/BPM companies, namely TIQRI Corporation, Metatechno Lanka Company (Private) Limited, lnexis Consulting (Pvt) Ltd, lnformate Private Limited, ZILLIONe Business Solutions Pvt Ltd, Master Minds Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, Arimac Lanka Pvt Ltd, Design Box (PVT) LTD, ERP Lanka (PVT) Ltd, presented their profiles during the webinar. ICT/ BPM sector in Sri Lanka has been identified as one of the strategic National Export Strategy (NES) initiatives and it ranks as the 4th largest foreign exchange generator of Sri Lanka which contributed US$ one billion in2019.
The sector has more than 400 SMEs and large scale companies as well as more than 500 startups that are catering to prominent markets in the GCC, EU, USA, UK, Japan, Australia etc.
More than 120,000 IT professionals are working in the sector. The EDB along with the industry associations unveiled the brand name for the ICT/BPM sector of Sri Lanka in 2018 as “lsland of Ingenuity - Sri Lanka Knowledge Solutions”. This accelerated the promotional activities of this industry in the international market.