One of the plane's engines lies among the wreckage. EPA
One of the plane's engines lies among the wreckage. EPA
One of the plane's engines lies among the wreckage. EPA
One of the plane's engines lies among the wreckage. EPA

Iran ‘dragging feet’ in investigation into shot-down Ukrainian plane


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Iranians investigating the downing of a passenger plane a year ago are deliberately dragging their feet, according Ukraine International Airlines.

Tehran has said its anti-air missiles brought down the plane by mistake on January 8 last year, killing all 176 passengers and crew during a period of heightened tension with the US.

"We haven't got an answer to the main question: how could this happen and who is responsible?" UIA chief Yevhenii Dykhne said. "The process isn't moving".

"The tactic on the Iranian side is to sweep under the rug, to drag their feet," he said. "There needs to be more serious pressure from those countries whose citizens died."
Ukrainian officials confirmed this week they received a preliminary "technical report" from Iran on December 31 on the circumstances of the disaster.

They now have two months to review the document and decide if they are satisfied.

Mr Dykhne joined widespread criticism of Tehran's offer to give $150,000 to the families of each of the victims as a "media strategy just designed to test our reaction".

He said the Iranian government has not made any official proposal for payouts, arguing that "international precedents" should be used to set the level of compensation.

Payouts should only follow technical and criminal inquiries into the deaths and a determination whether the destruction of the plane was due to human error or a planned "military" act, Mr Dykhne said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month called on Iran to answer questions about the plane, in which 55 Canadians were killed. An independent report complained that Iran was "investigating itself, largely in secret".

The report said Iran's probe suffered "obvious conflicts of interest... with few safeguards to ensure independence, impartiality or legitimacy".
In 1996, Washington agreed to pay a total of $61.8 million to the families of 290 people killed in an Iran Air plane shot down by a US warship in 1988.

After its 2003 admission of responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of a US-bound passenger plane, Libya paid $2.7 billion to the families of the 270 people killed.

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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

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.