The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned a ruling on whether last year’s decision by the Kurdistan Region’s parliament to extend its term was constitutional.
The current parliament was inaugurated after the 2018 elections. A vote was supposed to be held last year but was postponed over differences between the major ruling parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
The ruling comes after legislators from both parties were involved in a fistfight in parliament over a disagreement on the electoral commission
A new election for the 111-seat parliament and new president is now scheduled for November 18, but disagreements between the KDP and PUK may delay the vote.
To prevent the Kurdistan Region from entering a legal vacuum, the majority of the legislators voted in October last year to extend the four-year term of the legislative body by one year.
A few weeks later, the major opposition party in the region, the New General Movement, and a number of Kurdish politicians in the federal parliament in Baghdad filed a case against Rewaz Fayaq, speaker of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament.
They have called for the extension to be annulled, describing it as unconstitutional.
They have argued that the decision contradicts articles 5 and 20 of the Iraqi constitution, which emphasise the right of the Iraqi people to vote and take part in the democratic process.
They say it also contradicts article 51 of the Kurdistan Region parliament’s election law, which stipulates that a parliament term must not exceed four years.
The next session will be on May 30.
The postponement, the eighth since the case was filed, will further complicate the political scene in Kurdistan before the elections.
The fistfight between KDP and PUK politicians in parliament on Monday began after the KDP forced a vote on reactivating the electoral commission.
The PUK wanted to put the amended election law and the reactivation of the election commission in one package.
The two sides have since entered a legal battle as to whether the session was legal or not, deepening disagreements and threatening to delay the elections.
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
More on Quran memorisation:
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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