The UAE and Vietnam have agreed to start Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) negotiations to strengthen bilateral trade ties as the Emirates pushes ahead with its plans to develop trade and investment relations with partners around the world.
The partnership with the South-east Asian country holds huge potential, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said on Thursday.
“Today, Nguyen Hong Dien, Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade, and I agreed to launch negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, delivering an important new alliance in the heart of South-east Asia,” he said on Twitter.
“It's a partnership of huge potential: bilateral non-oil trade totalled $7.9 billion in 2022. A Cepa will accelerate these numbers, creating new opportunities for exporters and investors in agriculture, energy, technology and logistics."
In January last year, the UAE also signed an agreement with Vietnam to promote cultural co-operation in areas spanning antiquities, heritage, the arts and libraries, as the Gulf country sought to further boost its creative economy.
The UAE is working towards signing 26 Cepas as it seeks to diversify its economy, Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy, said last month.
It aims to eliminate unnecessary trade barriers, increase market access and set up investment and trade ventures with its partners.
The country has already signed Cepa deals with India, Israel, Indonesia and Turkey, and is close to finalising agreements with Cambodia and Kenya.
Last month, it started talks with Costa Rica and also recently concluded negotiations for a new trade deal with Georgia.
Trade between the UAE and India increased by 10 per cent in the year after the countries signed the deal, Dr Al Zeyoudi said in February.
Non-oil trade rose to nearly $50 billion since the Cepa was signed, putting it on track to achieve its $100 billion goal by 2030, he said.
Meanwhile, the deal with Israel, which took effect on April 1, is aimed at boosting non-oil bilateral trade between the two countries to $10 billion by the end of the decade from $1.3 billion in 2021.
Last year, the Emirates' non-oil foreign trade surged 17 per cent annually to reach a record Dh2.23 trillion ($607.2 billion).
This was the first time the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade had crossed the Dh2 trillion mark.
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Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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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
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
