In the Pipeline

Oman is to take measures in line with standards set by the European Union (“EU”) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in order to tackle tax evasion.  It is currently drafting regulations governing the automatic exchange of information through Common Reporting Standards (“CRS”).  CRS is a global version of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which was introduced by the U.S. Congress to prevent offshore tax abuse.  The measures should pave the way for Oman’s removal from the EU tax blacklist, to which it was added in March 2019.

A new Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law is currently under consideration at the State Council.  The law is part of a suite of new statutes planned by the Government to boost investment in the Sultanate and improve the Sultanate’s ranking in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Index.  The proposed statute will set out the rights and responsibilities of an insolvent company’s creditors and the sequence of the settlement process to be followed.  It will also define the roles of the various parties involved in the process.  The law is expected to be enacted later in 2019.

Please contact us if you would like more detailed advice on the above.