As part of its ongoing commitment to further enhance and develop its platform, and following a public consultation, the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority announced the enactment of the recently amended Tax Rules and Regulations.

The amendment clarifies  the definition of 'Local Source Taxable Profits' and includes a provision to exclude profits of non-regulated firms that are derived from services used outside of the State of Qatar, provided:

• The firm's accounts are audited and reported on by an external auditor
• At least 30% of the firm's income can be attributed to activities undertaken by the QFC firm in Qatar
• The firm employs at least three full time employees
• The services are not rendered under an arrangement the sole or main purpose of which is the avoidance of tax

 Other minor changes were also introduced to clarify the definition of Qatari Owned Companies and the application of the late payment charge. In addition, the amendments now allow for the service of documents and notices to be made by email or other designated means of electronic transmission. "This recent enhancement widens the scope for firms who provide services to overseas entities to avail of tax reliefs," explained Hamed Al-Saadi, QFC Authority Chief Finance and Tax Officer. He added: "These changes have been made taking into account international tax initiatives such as the BEPS project."

The amended rules and regulations, which are available to all QFC entities staff and firms on the dedicated intranet and extranet platforms, aim to further attract businesses to the QFC and support the entity's mandate to diversify the economy.