Paris Saint-Germain are French champions for a third straight year after the football season was declared over following a league vote on Thursday.
PSG, who boast a wealth of attacking talent in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, topped the Ligue 1 table by 12 points from Marseille with 10 rounds left and one rearranged fixture still to play when the season was suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak.
France has been one of the countries worst hit by the virus, with more than 24,000 Covid-19 related deaths.
The Ligue de Football Professional (LFP) also crowned Lorient as Ligue 2 champions in a conference call.
The top five sides in Ligue 2 were separated by just four points, with Lorient and Lens currently occupying the automatic promotion places.
"We have decided there would be two promotions and two relegations", Didier Quillot, the chief executive of the French League, told a news conference. It means Amiens and Toulouse will be relegated and Lorient and Lens will be promoted.
Toulouse were bottom of the table, 17 points from safety, and 10 points behind Amiens. Nimes were 18th and in the relegation play-off spot, three points behind St Etienne in 17th.
"There might be appeals but our decisions are solid," Quillot added.
Ruling out any possibility of following the lead of the Netherlands, who decided to void their season without a champion, relegation or promotion, the LFP said a final table was arranged on the basis of average points per game.
As a result, Marseille and Rennes will go into the Champions League next season, while fourth-placed Lille will play in the Europa League.
Toulouse and Amiens, the bottom two, are condemned to relegation, with Lorient and Lens coming up from Ligue 2.
The identity of the other European representatives depends on whether the finals of the two domestic cups are ever played.
Quillot said the LFP had until May 25 to tell Uefa which clubs would be qualified for European competitions.
The league's announcement comes after French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that "professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart" because of the risks linked to the pandemic.
The decision to suspend Ligue 1 could provide an obstacle for Uefa, who had been looking into completing the Champions League and Europa League campaigns in August.
PSG and Lyon are still in the Champions League, with the former through to the quarter-finals and the latter holding a 1-0 first-leg lead against Juventus in the round of 16.
The biog
Favourite Emirati dish: Fish machboos
Favourite spice: Cumin
Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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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