National Bank of Fujairah selects Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE Fast VAT service for its Corporate & Institutional Banking clients

Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, has been selected by National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) to provide a Value Added Tax (VAT) solution for its Corporate & Institutional Banking clients including SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises). The Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE Fast VAT solution provides businesses with everything they need to know to be compliant with the recent introduction of VAT in the region – all in a single location.

With dedicated sections for each country, the solution delivers guidance on VAT implementation, published laws and regulations, and VAT guides for the region’s most important industries. It also details the VAT framework for each country, providing essential links to the appropriate VAT return forms, VAT laws in both English and Arabic, and the state tax authorities.

The solution includes Thomson Reuters’ proprietary content such as Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Tax & Accounting newsletters and a variety of articles and whitepapers to help and guide corporates through the new tax landscape. In addition, SME owners and managers can quickly discover whether the products and services they sell are liable for VAT using the solution’s question and answer (Q&A) engine that guides users through a comprehensive database of content tailored for the introduction of VAT in the GCC.

Vince Cook, Chief Executive Officer, National Bank of Fujairah explained “Initially we were helping our customers with our in-house knowledge and expertise on the introduction of VAT, but quickly recognised that it would be of more value to provide a comprehensive reference point that could be navigated through the phase of implementation of VAT and beyond. We chose Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE Fast VAT solution to support our customers through the entire process and to make sure they feel comfortable in managing this new requirement.”

“We see this association with Thomson Reuters as part of the broader intent of the bank to build meaningful partnerships with our clients, helping customers build more successful businesses by providing them with good sources of intelligence and advice,” he added.

In addition to the ONESOURCE Fast VAT solution, NBF also recently partnered with Thomson Reuters as a platinum sponsor to educate SMEs through the “Accelerate SME” platform, given the importance of the SME sector in the UAE. The portal is completely free to join and offers invaluable advice for business owners and entrepreneurs. 

Nadim Najjar, Managing Director, Thomson Reuters Middle East and North Africa, said: “Now that the implementation of VAT is reality, many SMEs are looking for answers to specific questions that affect their businesses. SMEs need to know whether their goods or services are liable for VAT, what process they should follow in filing VAT returns and how to keep updated on changes to tax laws. ONESOURCE Fast VAT brings together the trusted answers they need, through an intuitive and easy-to use solution.”