The Dubai Economic Affairs Council, DEAC, recently met to discuss a variety of issues related to labour and VAT (value-added tax).The meeting, presided over by the Council's Chairman, Juma Al Majid, was attended by Minister of Labour, Dr. Ali bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, the Minister of State for Financial and Industrial Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the DEAC, and members of the DEAC representing various business and economic institutions.In his opening remarks, the Council Chairman thanked the Labour Minister for his collaboration and that of his officials with various economic interests, as part of the Ministry's strategy to create a real partnership with the business sector.Briefing the meeting, the Minister pledged that his Ministry will always be at the service of society as a whole, and the business sector, in particular, adding that the continuing dialogue between the Ministry and businessmen was the fruit of the good spirit of collaboration that exists on both sides Praising the Council and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the effort put b y them into the production of a report on the draft labour law, Al Ka'abi said that it was important that there should be a discussion of the law by a joint committee of the Ministry and Dubai economic institutions, so as to reach a collective consensus on this and other issues of importance to all stakeholders. The draft law should be completed by the end of this year, he said The Minister also explained current and future policies of his Ministry which, he said, were designed to create a better climate for labour in the country, in line with current economic development. The success so far achieved, he added, was the result of the wise directives of H.H.Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. He also praised Sheikh Mohammed for his decision to grant an amnesty to violators of the labour law, provided they rectify their status within a three month period The Minister said that the UAE will continue to promulgate labour laws to match the latest developments in the various sectors, adding that his ministry will also coordinate with the private sector to find solutions to existing labour problems He said plans were at an advanced stage to link the Ministry with the Naturalisation and Residency Department to enable the latter to issue employment visas without having to refer to the Ministry. The Ministry will also soon open offices at airports to facilitate the cancellation of visas and residence permits for departing workers, he added The DEAC also met with a Dubai Customs team, led by its director general, Ahmed Butti, and reviewed a draft of a law to introduce the VAT and the justification for this, which was attributed to discussions with a number of foreign countries on Free Trade Agreement.Butti said that VAT is now in operation in over 140 countries and added that, if introduced in the UAE, it would meet the political objective of making the UAE an international hub for business and financial services, while maintaining the country's unique features of competitiveness.The DEAC also discussed other issues, including the protection of local agents and the latest developments on the commercial law bill. Source
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