Earlier in August 2020, the UAE made a retrospective amendment
to its Economic Substance Regulation (ESR). The amended law (also
referred to as 'New ESR') made significant changes to the
erstwhile regulations. It may be noted that the New ESR is
applicable retrospectively to accounting year commencing on or
after 1 January 2019.
In continuation of this, on 22 October 2020, Ministry of
Finance, UAE (MoF) released template of the forms in which the
businesses are required to file revised notification, and, the
much-awaited template form for ESR Annual Return. The due date for
filing of first ESR Annual Return is 31 December 2020 for the year
ended on 31 December 2019.
It is important to note that the due date for filing of
revised notification is not yet announced. Also, it is anticipated
that the ministry will soon activate the web portal for filing of
these forms.
