Deloitte announced the launch of a regional initiative to assist Middle East businesses to recover tax (value added tax) paid in the European Union countries through the use of special proprietary technology, “RevaticSmart”.
It is widely estimated that every year businesses incur $1.8 billion of EU VAT which they should be entitled to recover. As this VAT is incurred in staff expenses, identifying and processing the claims is not cost efficient. The acquisition of the “RevaticSmart” technology, with is optical character recognition software, enables Deloitte to compile information on thousands of invoices in a fraction of the time it would have taken in the past. This means that Deloitte can offer its clients the ability to recover this VAT on a cost effective basis – previously such work has been undertaken in a highly manual fashion.
The technology allows Deloitte to efficiently and cost effectively identify, process, and substantiate VAT refund claims and facilitates the entire VAT recovery lifecycle, including eligibility analysis, invoice retrieval, refund processing improvement and dispute resolution.
“This technology acquisition, combined with Deloitte’s local indirect tax expertise, presents a unique opportunity for our clients in the Middle East to reduce hidden VAT costs,” Nauman Ahmed, Deloitte Middle East tax practice leader, said.
Concurrently, the International Tax Review Indirect Tax Leaders guide has recognized 94 Deloitte member firm professionals as leading indirect tax advisers, more than any other organization in the world. The list includes the Deloitte Middle East Indirect Tax Leader, Justin Whitehouse.
“I am delighted to have been named on the recognized Indirect Tax leaders list as it is personally pleasing. However, it is a testament not just to me, but the Indirect Tax team in the Middle East, which is the largest specialized team of its type in the region helping clients across all indirect tax issues”, said Justin Whitehouse.
The tax professionals featured in the guide are identified by researchers who conduct in-depth evaluations of indirect tax practitioners worldwide. Leaders are chosen based on a nomination process as well as consultation with eminent industry professionals who express their views on the credibility of nominees.
Deloitte Middle East also announced the launch of a regional initiative to assist Middle East businesses to recover tax (value added tax) paid in countries outside the Middle East (principally the 28 European Union countries). Deloitte has acquired proprietary technology, “RevaticSmart”, which extracts data necessary to recover VAT incurred, which might otherwise be lost.
“Deloitte is pleased to make this investment in response to our clients’ wish to create material savings using government sponsored tax refund schemes. We can now offer our clients a variety of technology-driven solutions that will help our clients drive tax efficiency or enable better tax risk management. Our investment in RevaticSmart increases the breadth and depth of Deloitte’s services to our Middle East clients,” Whitehouse, said.
Deloitte’s Middle East VAT refund offering features: Automated processing of VAT refund claims via extraction of data from invoices, quality checks and e-filing of VAT refund claims;
A competitive pricing model which often means Deloitte fees are a proportion of the VAT recovered and Transparent client reporting via a dedicated online portal.
Access to Deloitte’s award winning global network of indirect tax specialists
Deloitte member firms are part of a global network that includes approximately 28,000 member firm tax partners and professionals worldwide. The flexible service delivery model of Deloitte member firms and the global Deloitte network allows clients to choose a level of support that is right for them. Services can be provided using a local approach, a global or regionally coordinated approach, or a centralized approach to increase efficiency and control over tax activities.
Clients benefit from the global reach of the worldwide Deloitte network of member firms, while retaining access to local tax knowledge when and where they need it. This means enhanced relations with revenue authorities, fast responses to regulatory changes, and tax providers with a deep understanding of their issues and the environments in which they operate.