All the winners at the IIFA Awards 2023 in Abu Dhabi

Bollywood fantasy film Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva and gritty biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi were the big winners at this year's International Indian Film Academy Awards.

Held across two days, on Friday and Saturday, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, Bollywood's biggest and brightest stars paid tribute to their colleagues and celebrated with some colourful performances.

The IIFA Awards are an annual celebration of all things Bollywood. Abu Dhabi was hosting the event for the second year in a row.

On Friday at IIFA Rocks, a night dedicated to music and fashion, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi was the big winner in the technical categories, clinching trophies for cinematography, screenplay and dialogue. The film, about real-life gangster Ganga Harjivandas Kathiawadi, a mafia chief in 1960s Bombay, stars Alia Bhatt in the lead.

Bhatt won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) for her performance in the film.

Hrithik Roshan won the leading actor trophy for his role in the Abu Dhabi-shot Vikram Vedha.

Anees Bazmee's Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, the horror comedy starring Kartik Aaryan and Tabu, won two awards – Best Choreography for title track and Best Sound Design.

Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva won the majority of the awards on Saturday at the gala event, including Best Playback Singer for Shreya Ghoshal (Female) and Arijit Singh (Male), as well as Best Supporting Actor (Female) for Mouni Roy.

Mouni Roy with her Best Supporting Actor (Female) award for Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva. Photo: IIFA

Babil Khan, the son of late Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, shared the Best Debut (Male) award with Shantanu Maheshwari. Khan was celebrated for his role in the film Qala, and Maheshwari for starring in Gangubai Kathiawadi.

Khushali Kumar won the Best Debut (Female) awards for Dhoka Around the Corner.

Babil Khan and Shantanu Maheshwari shared the Best Debut (Male) award for Qala and Gangubai Kathiawadi, respectively. Photo: IIFA

Here are all the winners at the IIFA Awards 2023:

- Best Film: Drishyam 2

- Best Director: R Madhavan for Rocketry: The Nambi Effect

- Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female): Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi

- Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male): Hrithik Roshan for Vikram Vedha

- Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Mouni Roy for Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

- Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Anil Kapoor for Jugjugg Jeeyo

- Outstanding Achievement for Fashion in Cinema: Manish Malhotra

- Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema: Kamal Haasan

- Best Adapted Story: Aamil Keeyan Khan and Abhishek Pathak for Drishyam 2

- Best Original Story: Perveez Sheikh and Jasmeet Reen for Darlings

- Outstanding Achievement in Regional Cinema: Marathi film Ved, directed by Riteish Deshmukh

- Best Debut (Male): Shantanu Maheshwari for Gangubai Kathiawadi and Babil Khan for Qala

- Best Debut (Female): Khushali Kumar for Dhoka Around the Corner

- Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal for the song Rasiya from Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

- Best Playback Singer (Male): Arijit Singh for the song Kesariya from Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

- Best Music Direction: Pritam for Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

- Best Lyricist: Amitabh Bhattacharya for the song Kesarya from Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

- Best Cinematography: Gangubai Kathiawadi

- Best Screenplay: Gangubai Kathiawadi

- Best Dialogue: Gangubai Kathiawadi

- Best Choreography for title track: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

- Best Sound Design: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

- Best Editing: Drishyam 2

- Best Special Effects (Visual): Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

- Best Background Score: Vikram Vedha

- Best Sound Mixing: Monica O My Darling

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

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Itcan profile

Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani

Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India

Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce

Size: 70 employees

Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch

Funding: Self-funded to date

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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The Bio

Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.

Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.

Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.

Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.