The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department reduced Will Registration Charges for Non-Muslims

The ‘wills’ registration office in the capital where many non-Muslim residents register their wills, has reduced the registration charges from Dh5,500 to Dh950 from December.

Though the service charge was only Dh500 when the service started in August from November, the office revised the service fee and started charging Dh5,500 for a ‘will’ registration. The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department [ADJD] reduced it to support the registry of wills.

In case of sudden death of the testator, the assets will be distributed by the court as per the will. The wills registration office for non-Muslims builds up the confidence among residents of legal protection of their assets in the UAE and it ensures them the liberty of selecting the appropriate method to write and register their will concerning the disposal of their estate after their death.

A spokesperson of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department said: “Now the service fee is only Dh950 for registering a will.”

The spokesperson said: “Any person can bequeath his/her estate to males and females equally and in case of his/her death, the assets will be distributed by the court as stated in the testator’s will.”

Whereas the changing or revoking of will is concerned, the testator can revoke the will at any time, or otherwise replace it by a new one, the spokesperson said.

The office helps to legalise a will of a non-Muslim for the disposition of a deceased’s estates, nominating a guardian for his/her minor children, he said. From August last year, a special “Non-Muslims Wills Office” started operations at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department to register inheritance wills for non-Muslim expatriates in the capital.

As people from many nationalities live in the UAE, they can now legally register their will here. It guarantees that their families and children can legally claim the assets in the UAE in case of testator’s death.” As per the will, beneficiaries can claim assets of the testator anywhere in the UAE, whether they register in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. It will be valid for all the UAE.

“More than 50 of my clients have registered their wills at the Abu Dhabi office but I can say that approximately, so far, more than 100 expatriates would have registered their wills at the Non-Muslims Wills Office in Abu Dhabi,” he said.

About the different services fees, he said, the Dubai Courts charges Dh2,165 for registering a will and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts takes Dh10,000.”

The office in Abu Dhabi was established after a decision issued in May by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, who is also the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, to create a registry of wills office and probate for non-Muslims.

The application is submitted online at [ADJD] website. The competent employee verifies if the application meets the requirements. A notification by SMS is sent to the applicant with the approval of the application or request for modification. The application fee is paid online through ADJD website.

The applicant can contact the Non-Muslim Wills Registration Office to schedule an appointment for the application processing. Then the applicant has to visit on the fixed date the Non-Muslim Wills Registration Office to submit the original documents. After completing these procedures, finally, the will is legalised and will be delivered by the Notary Public of the department.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

• Emirates ID.

• Passport (original and a copy).

• The document “Will” to be legalised, with a sufficient number of copies for all parties concerned and a copy of records.

• Documentation that provides clear proof of the bequeathed property ownership.

• An official translation attested by the Ministry of Justice is required where the document is drafted in a language other than the Arabic language.

• Venue: Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (Main Building)

• Timing: 8am to 2pm [Sunday to Thursday]

• Service Fee: Dh950

UAE and India sign agreement for direct trade in Dirham and Rupee

The UAE and India have reached a historic agreement which will enable businesses on both sides to bypass the US Dollar or any other foreign currency and trade directly in UAE Dirhams and the Indian Rupee.

The agreement will mean large savings for business communities on both sides as trade between the UAE and India soars to new highs.

India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Navdeep Suri, said that this is in addition to the agreements and memoranda of understanding which were signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s just-concluded two-day visit to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

"There were two other agreements that have been finalised. One is a currency swap agreement where India and UAE – it is an agreement between the two Central Banks – and the agreement has been completed and it is going to be exchanged through letters. Under this, businesses from the two sides will be able to trade directly in Rupees and in Dirhams and not have to go through US Dollars which means that there is a saving for the business community. It makes trade between the two countries more competitive," Suri said while reviewing Modi’s visits to the UAE, Jordan and Palestine along with India’s new Foreign Secretary, Vijay Gokhale, for Indian reporters.

Although the Dirham has a fixed peg to the US Dollar, the currency swap agreement between the UAE and India could favourably impact trade between the two countries as the Trump Administration in the US cements further an expansionary fiscal policy and the US Federal Reserve considers rate hikes.

The impact of US policies on the Indian Rupee would be greater and favourable to trade with the UAE since the Indian currency’s value is not pegged to the US Dollar but is determined by a basket of currencies.

The rationale for the currency swap agreement is evident from UAE-India trade figures. From a mere $182 million in 1982, the current level of bilateral trade amounted to about USD 53 billion, according to a joint statement released at the end Modi’s visit.

Another agreement which has been finalised and will be signed this week is "between the Financial Intelligence Units which commits both countries to work more closely together in money laundering, in preventing money laundering that takes place," Suri said.

About this agreement, the joint statement said: "the two sides welcomed the finalisation of an MOU on cooperation in the exchange of financial intelligence related to money laundering, associated predicate offences and terrorist financing."

Guidelines for Pakistanis to get good character certificate for UAE work visa

The UAE government recently made good character certificates mandatory for getting a work visa in the country.

As per a decision of the Council of Ministers No. (1/8) of 2017, which has been adopted recently by the Dubai Police Coordination Committee, the applicant should provide the certificate from the home country or from the country of residence where the person has been residing during the last five years. This should be certified by the UAE missions abroad or attestation centres of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of International Cooperation.

On Sunday, the Embassy of Pakistan in UAE issued steps on how Pakistanis can get the good character certificate.

Step 1: Obtain police clearance certificate from local/designated police station/office

Step 2: Attest police clearance certificate from ministry of foreign affairs of Pakistan or from its camp offices in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar or Quetta.

Step 3: If the individual is in Pakistan and wants to proceed to the UAE on employment or work visa:

Attest the certificate from embassy/consulate of UAE in Pakistan through its designated service providers, i.e.,

a.) Gerry's http://visadropbox.com/uae

b.) Sasha International http://sasha.pk

Step 3: If the individual is in UAE on tourist/visit visa and wants to obtain an employment visa

a.) Attest the police clearance certificate from Pakistan embassy in Abu Dhabi, or Pakistan consulate general in Dubai

b.) Get the certificate attested from the UAE ministry of foreign affairs

Expats won't need police document to change jobs in the UAE

Expats already working in the UAE will not yet require a criminal background check to change jobs and secure a new employment visa, immigration officials have said.

As of February 4, the government will require those moving to the UAE to work to produce a new document: a 'good conduct and behaviour certificate' or police clearance letter.

The term varies between countries but it must be proof that you have never committed a criminal offence.

The move marks one of the most significant changes to the UAE's visa system and has resulted in a flood of queries to the authorities and expats' home embassies.

Immigration officials confirmed that the system is principally aimed at ensuring all new residents have no criminal history and that expats already on a visa will not have to seek a background check if they move on to another company.

But they could not rule expats needing the document in the near future, immigration officials and industry figures said.

VAT in the UAE: First tax returns must be submitted before February 28th

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has told businesses, whose first tax period ended on January 31, to file their VAT returns before February 28.Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director-general, FTA, reminded registered businesses to submit their tax returns on a monthly or quarterly basis, as determined by the FTA based on their annual revenue.

Earlier, the FTA had made some adjustments to the first tax periods for VAT in order to afford more flexibility to businesses following requests from a large number of businesses subject to VAT.

These exceptional adjustments included extending tax periods from one to three months for some businesses at the beginning of implementation in 2018, with tax periods returning to a monthly basis later on.

According to FTA, the first quarterly tax period - which was meant to expire by the end of January or February 2018 - was extended by merging it with the following period, making the first tax period four months for some businesses and five for others. These mainly included small and medium enterprises.

Meanwhile, businesses whose first tax period was three months ending in March 2018 were not included in these adjustments.

According to Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2017 on the VAT, the standard tax period applicable to a taxable person shall be a period of three months ending on the date that the authority determines.

Al Bustani noted that taxable persons must submit tax returns, pay their due taxes within the specified timeframes, and keep records as required in tax legislation in order to avoid penalties.

Tax returns must include

> The value of standard-rated supplies made in the tax period and the output tax charged

> The value of zero-rated supplies made in the tax period

> The value of exempt supplies made in the tax period

> The value of any reverse-charged supplies received in the tax period

> The value of expenses incurred in the tax period (if the business in question is looking to recover input tax and the amount of recoverable tax)

> The total amount of tax due and recoverable input tax for the tax period

> The payable tax (or repayable) for the tax period+