GIFT City & IFSC
Setting Up a Fund or Family Office in GIFT City
Two routes into GIFT City for foreign capital: a fund through an FME, or a single-family Family Investment Fund. The categories, thresholds and the substance.
Read articleInsights & Knowledge Series
Practical commentary on UAE and India market entry, company structuring, corporate tax and cross-border advisory — written by the ATB team.
Latest in the Series Market Entry
Set Up Independently, Acquire, or Enter Through a Joint Venture in the UAE?
Build operations independently, acquire an existing platform, or enter through a joint venture? How to weigh the three UAE entry routes against commercial reality — banking, governance, integration and long-term scale.
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GIFT City & IFSC
GIFT City for Foreign Investors: Funds, Treasury, Leasing and India-Linked Structuring
What GIFT City offers a foreign fund or family office: the vehicles, the conditional tax reliefs, and why it works without relocating to India.
Read articleManufacturing & Incentives
Tax, Transfer Pricing and FEMA for Foreign Manufacturers in India
The net economics of an India plant turn on tax, customs and transfer pricing. The 115BAB sunset, FEMA, inverted duties and related-party pricing, for foreign manufacturers.
Read articleManufacturing & Incentives
India as a China+1 Manufacturing Base: Structuring for Foreign Manufacturers
China+1 is a board-level supply-chain decision, not a single scheme. How foreign manufacturers structure India as a diversification node: sectors, localisation and the land-border rule.
Read articleManufacturing & Incentives
PLI and India's Manufacturing Incentives: A Guide for Foreign Manufacturers
India's production-linked incentives can change a plant's economics, but only if you qualify, structure to claim and stack them with state and SEZ benefits. The execution view.
Read articleManufacturing & Incentives
Wholly-Owned, Joint Venture or Contract Manufacturing: The Foreign Manufacturer's India Structure
How a foreign manufacturer chooses its India structure: a wholly-owned plant, a joint venture or contract manufacturing, and how FDI, technology and IP shape the choice.
Read articleManufacturing & Incentives
India Manufacturing Entry for Foreign Companies: Entity, Incentives and Supply-Chain Structuring
What it takes for a foreign company to manufacture in India: the entity, the incentives (PLI and state), the supply chain, and the tax that decides the economics.
Read articleGlobal Capability Centres
Setting Up a GCC in India for UAE and Gulf Financial Institutions
Why a UAE or Gulf bank, insurer or asset manager sets up its India capability centre, the GIFT City option, and the regulatory and data points that make a BFSI GCC different.
Read articleGlobal Capability Centres
Where and How to Locate an India GCC: SEZ, STPI, IFSC and the City Decision
The two-part location decision for an India GCC: which tax regime (SEZ, STPI, domestic or GIFT City) and which city, and how each affects tax, operations and cost.
Read articleGlobal Capability Centres
GCC Operating Model and Entity in India: Captive, Build-Operate-Transfer or Managed
How a foreign company chooses its India GCC model and entity: own captive, build-operate-transfer or managed services, and why the wholly-owned company is the usual base.
Read articleGlobal Capability Centres
Transfer Pricing, Tax and Employment for an India GCC
The economics of an India GCC turn on transfer pricing. The cost-plus model, the 2026 safe-harbour reset, corporate tax, and parent-company ESOPs, for foreign owners.
Read articleGlobal Capability Centres
Setting Up a Global Capability Centre in India: The Foreign Company's Guide
What it takes for a foreign company to set up a Global Capability Centre in India: the model, the entity, the location, and the tax and transfer-pricing that decide the economics.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
India Market Entry for UK Companies
For a UK company, India setup is familiar; the UK side is favourable: the dividend exemption, a limited controlled-company charge, and the UK-India treaty.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
India Market Entry for US Companies
For a US company the India entity is the easy part. The US side is specific: the worldwide-credit system, GILTI, the check-the-box election and the treaty.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
How Your Home Country Shapes Your India Entry
How your home country shapes an India entry: the treaty that applies, how profits are repatriated and taxed at home, and how India reads the structure.
Read articleIndia Case Law
The Substance Arc: Azadi Bachao to Tiger Global
From the 2003 ruling that a Mauritius certificate sufficed to the 2026 ruling that substance governs: the shift every investor into India must understand.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
India Is Not a Difficult Market. It Is a Market That Rewards Disciplined Structuring.
Two decades of Indian investment outcomes carry a consistent lesson: the difference between strong exits and difficult ones lies in the structure.
Read articleGIFT City & IFSC
GIFT City Tax and the IFSC Regime: A Guide for Foreign Investors
GIFT City tax is specific and conditional, not a blanket tax-free zone: the 80LA holiday, the non-resident capital-gains exemptions and the GST position.
Read articleGIFT City & IFSC
The UAE–India Corridor via GIFT City: Route, Domicile Choice and Structuring
How Gulf and foreign capital reaches India through GIFT City, and why it can beat Singapore, Dubai and Mauritius for an India-bound vehicle.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
India Market Entry for Singapore Companies
For a Singapore company, India entry turns on the India-Singapore treaty and its limitation-on-benefits test, the territorial system, and the holding choice.
Read articleIndia Case Law
Treaty Selection Decides the Outcome: The Sanofi Case
Vodafone and Sanofi faced the same indirect-transfer charge and reached opposite results. The difference was the treaty. Why holding-jurisdiction choice decides.
Read articleIndia Case Law
The Indirect-Transfer Cases: Vodafone, Cairn and the Treaty Backstop
Vodafone and Cairn show the one risk no structure carries — a change in law applied after the deal — and the two tools that answer it: the treaty and the contract.
Read articleIndia Case Law
The Limits of Most-Favoured-Nation: The Nestlé Ruling
Companies used India's MFN treaty clause to claim lower withholding rates. The Supreme Court held the benefit needs a notification. The reliance lesson.
Read articleIndia Case Law
Lessons from India's Landmark Cross-Border Cases
What India's landmark cross-border cases teach about durable structuring — and how the framework has matured. Read for the lesson, not the verdict.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
Investing in India Through a Shifting Tax and Treaty Landscape
The headlines on India move constantly; the direction does not. How to read its tax and capital-policy signals for structuring and exit decisions.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
Where to Hold an India Investment: The Treaty and Substance Decision
Choosing where to hold an India investment is no longer treaty shopping. How the tax treaty, the investment treaty and substance now decide the jurisdiction.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
India's Investment-Treaty Protection Has Been Reset: What Incoming Investors Should Do
India reset its investment-treaty protection to a narrower template and is rebuilding on it. What changed, what it now covers, and how an incoming investor responds.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
Singapore vs UAE: Where to Hold Your India Investment
Singapore and the UAE are the two main places to hold an India investment. They are more alike than they look; the choice turns on substance, owners and purpose.
Read articleGIFT City & IFSC
GIFT City vs DIFC vs ADGM: Where to Base a Cross-Border Structure
GIFT City, DIFC and ADGM do different jobs. Which financial centre fits a cross-border or India-focused structure turns on law, tax, India access and ecosystem.
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GIFT City vs Singapore for Fund Domicile
GIFT City or Singapore for an India-focused fund? Singapore brings maturity and network; GIFT brings India access, cost and re-domiciliation. How to choose.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
India Subsidiary Setup for UAE Family Businesses
How a UAE family business sets up and holds an India investment: the treaty and substance, repatriation to the Gulf, succession across both, and round-tripping.
Read articleManufacturing & Incentives
Why PLI Approval Is Not the Same as Receiving Incentives
PLI approval is not a cheque. You earn it year by year by hitting committed investment and incremental sales, then claiming and surviving verification.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
Zero-Rated vs Exempt Supplies Under UAE VAT
Zero-rated and exempt supplies both leave the invoice VAT-free, but recovery, refunds and audit exposure differ sharply. How UAE companies classify correctly.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
What Is UAE Corporate Tax? The Essentials
A plain-English introduction to UAE corporate tax — who is in scope, the 0% and 9% bands, free zone treatment, registration and filing deadlines.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
UAE VAT Refunds: When, How and Who Can Claim
Who can claim UAE VAT refunds, when a credit position arises, how the EmaraTax VAT311 process works, and the documentation that decides approval speed.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
UAE VAT on E-Commerce: Rules for Online Sellers
How UAE VAT applies to online sales: place of supply, goods versus digital services, marketplace fees, reverse charge and the 2026 e-invoicing horizon.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
VAT in the UAE: The Complete Guide for Companies (2026)
UAE VAT end to end — registration thresholds, the four rate categories, input VAT recovery, imports and reverse charge, returns and penalties, and the e-invoicing mandate phasing in from July 2026.
Read articleTransfer Pricing
Master File and Local File Requirements in the UAE
UAE master file and local file rules — the AED 200m and AED 3.15bn thresholds, what each file must contain, the 30-day production window and retention duties.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Corporate Tax — Frequently Asked Questions (2026 Update)
The UAE corporate tax questions businesses ask most — rates and thresholds, free zone treatment, the end of Small Business Relief after 31 December 2026, DMTT for large groups, filing and records.
Read articleTransfer Pricing
Transfer Pricing Regulations in the UAE: A Full Guide
Who falls under UAE transfer pricing rules, how arm's length
Read articlePrivate Client Tax
UAE Tax Residency and TRCs: A Guide for Individuals
UAE tax residency for individuals — the 183-day and 90-day tests under Cabinet Decision 85 of 2022, and how to obtain a Tax Residency Certificate from the FTA.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
State-Wise Investment Incentives in India 2026
State-level incentives are shaping where foreign investors land in India in 2026. How Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and other leading states compare.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Small Business Relief: The 2026 Sunset
UAE Small Business Relief ends with tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026 — eligibility, the election, exclusions and planning for 2027.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
The Reverse Charge Mechanism in UAE VAT, Explained
When the UAE reverse charge applies, how to book it in the VAT return, recovery limits for exempt activity, and the errors that trigger FTA queries.
Read articleTransfer Pricing
Related-Party Transactions in the UAE: Key Risks
How the UAE defines related parties and connected persons, what documentation the FTA expects behind intercompany charges, and the dealings most at risk.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
Qualifying Investment Funds and Manager Exemptions
The UAE qualifying investment fund exemption under Cabinet Decision 34 of 2025 — conditions, investor-level rules, QLPs and the investment manager exemption.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) in the UAE
How the Mutual Agreement Procedure resolves double taxation under UAE tax treaties — legal basis, time limits, the process step by step and readiness measures.
Read articleMarket Entry & Structuring
India–UAE CEPA: New Investment Opportunities in Manufacturing & Logistics
Four years into CEPA, India–UAE trade has crossed USD 100 billion for a second year. Where the manufacturing and logistics opportunities now sit — and how UAE investors structure entry.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
How to File UAE VAT Returns Correctly
A working method for accurate UAE VAT returns: pre-filing reconciliations, reverse charge and customs checks, credit notes, and e-invoicing from July 2026.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
How Bookkeeping Errors Undermine UAE VAT Compliance
Why VAT compliance fails in the ledger before the return: tax-code errors, invalid invoices, missing export evidence, import mismatches and RCM gaps.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Holding Companies and Corporate Tax
How UAE corporate tax treats holding companies — exempt domestic dividends, the participation exemption tests, free zone status and substance duties.
Read articlePrivate Client Tax
Tax Planning for High-Net-Worth UAE Residents
How high-net-worth UAE residents plan beyond zero personal tax — corporate tax on entities, ADGM and DIFC family structures, treaty access and succession.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
The ATB Guide to UAE Corporate Tax
A reader-friendly map of the ATB Knowledge Series on UAE corporate tax — foundations, free zones, special regimes, compliance pitfalls and audience FAQs.
Read articlePrivate Client Tax
Corporate Tax for Freelancers and Sole Establishments
When UAE freelancers and sole establishments enter corporate tax — the AED 1 million turnover trigger, the 9% rate, small business relief and filing duties.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
Free Zone Corporate Tax: QFZP and Qualifying Income
Free zone status alone does not secure 0% UAE corporate tax — QFZP conditions, qualifying vs non-qualifying income, de minimis limits and what failure costs.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Free Zone Tax Rules: The QFZP Regime Explained
UAE free zone tax rules under corporate tax — qualifying free zone person conditions, qualifying income, the de minimis test and keeping the 0% rate.
Read articlePrivate Client Tax
UAE Corporate Tax for Foreign Companies and PE
When foreign companies fall within UAE corporate tax — permanent establishment triggers, nexus, UAE-sourced income, 0% withholding and treaty relief.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Corporate Tax Filing and Deadlines
The UAE corporate tax compliance calendar — registration, the nine-month return deadline, payment, elections, audited accounts and seven-year records.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
Corporate Tax FAQ for UAE-Incorporated Businesses
First-cycle corporate tax answers for UAE companies — registration timelines by incorporation date, first-period elections, accounting standards and groups.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
FAQ on Corporate Tax for Free Zone Entities in the UAE
Free zone corporate tax questions answered — de minimis mechanics, qualifying versus excluded activities, losing QFZP status for five periods, branch options.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
Corporate Tax FAQ: Foreign Companies and UAE PE
How UAE corporate tax reaches foreign companies — permanent establishment triggers, nexus from UAE real estate, treaty interplay and branch-level accounting.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Corporate Tax Exemptions and Reliefs
A map of UAE corporate tax exemptions and reliefs — exempt entities, participation exemption, free zone regime, restructuring relief and the SBR sunset.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
UAE Excise Tax: Rates, Scope and Compliance
UAE excise tax after the January 2026 reform — 100% on tobacco, vaping and energy drinks, the tiered sugar levy on sweetened drinks, and compliance duties.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
UAE Tax for E-Commerce and Digital Businesses
UAE tax for e-commerce and digital businesses — VAT place-of-supply rules, corporate tax exposure and the e-invoicing mandate phasing in from July 2026.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Corporate Tax for E-Commerce and Digital Firms
How UAE corporate tax reaches e-commerce, SaaS and platform businesses — sourcing, free zone treatment, revenue recognition and the VAT interaction.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Corporate Tax: Rates, Scope and Exemptions
UAE corporate tax mapped end to end — who is taxable, the 9% rate and AED 375,000 threshold, exemptions, free zone treatment, the 15% DMTT and key deadlines.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
UAE Corporate Tax Groups: Benefits and Risks
Forming a UAE corporate tax group — the 95% ownership tests, loss offset and single-return benefits, joint liability, free zone limits and clawback risk.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
Corporate Tax FAQs for SMEs in the UAE
Practical corporate tax answers for UAE SMEs — cash-basis accounting eligibility, audit thresholds, Small Business Relief sunset planning and loss rules.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
Corporate Tax FAQs: Investment Funds and Real Estate
Corporate tax questions UAE fund managers and property investors ask — QIF and REIT exemption conditions, investor thresholds, real estate income and filings.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
Corporate Tax FAQs for Freelancers in the UAE
When UAE freelancers and individual entrepreneurs enter corporate tax — the AED 1 million turnover trigger, what stays personal, licences and registration.
Read articleUAE VAT & Indirect Tax
VAT Filing Errors That Trigger Penalties in the UAE
The VAT filing errors UAE businesses repeat, and the penalty framework that changed in April 2026: late filing, late payment, records and disclosure.
Read articlePrivate Client Tax
Capital Gains, Dividends and Foreign Income in the UAE
How the UAE treats capital gains, dividends and foreign income for individuals — what stays untaxed, where source-country tax applies and how treaties help.
Read articleUAE Corporate Tax
Common UAE Corporate Tax Mistakes to Avoid
The corporate tax errors UAE businesses keep repeating — 0% complacency, free zone misclassification, careless SBR elections, weak records and late filings.
Read articleJurisdiction
How to Select the Right Jurisdiction for UAE Business Setup
Free zone, mainland, ADGM or DIFC? How to choose the right UAE jurisdiction by starting from how the business will actually operate — banking, tax, clients, staffing and expansion.
Read articleMarket Entry
Set Up Independently, Acquire, or Enter Through a Joint Venture in the UAE?
Build independently, acquire an existing platform, or enter through a joint venture? How to weigh the three UAE entry routes against commercial reality — banking, governance and scale.
Read articleTax & Compliance
UAE Corporate Tax and Transfer Pricing: What Businesses Often Overlook
Transfer pricing is no longer a large-multinational concern. What UAE corporate tax means for related-party transactions, operational substance and intercompany arrangements.
Read articleCompany Setup
The Real Cost of UAE Company Setup: Beyond Incorporation Fees
Licence fees are only the starting point. The real cost of a UAE company depends on banking, office infrastructure, staffing, tax compliance and the price of restructuring later.
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