Kuwait Successfully Passes Int'l Examination Of Taxation Information Swap

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) PARIS, Oct 25 (KUNA) -- Kuwait made substantial progress in the first phase of international assessment on adherence to Exchange of Information on Request" (EOIR) (regarding taxation information swap), held within quarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The advancement at this level was confirmed in a session for examining the State of Kuwait report in this regard; held at the OECD headquarters, based in the French capital, on Thursday.
According to a statement publicized in Paris by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Finance, on Friday, the ministry's Undersecretary Assil Al-Mnaifi had taken part in the session.
Having passed the first-phase examination by the "peer group," who voiced full approval of the steps and measures that had been taken by the State of Kuwait, it would shift to the second phase of the examining process.
Al-Mnaifi, during the session, briefed the conferees about measures and crucial moves that had been taken for adhering to the international obligations, boosting transparency and staying in tandem with rapid developments in the realm of taxation information exchange.
She alluded, in particular, to the enactment of the Law 6/2024 on information exchange for taxation purposes and the issuance of the executive by-laws of the Law 75/2024, in addition to amending 17 taxation accords to render them compatible with international conventions.
The undersecretary stressed on Kuwait's commitment to move ahead at the level of meeting the international requirements, envisaged in the second phase, while expressing gratitude for the guidance and recommendations, presented by the Secretariat of the International Transparency Forum with regard of the taxation information swap. She also lauded the role of the international follow-up team that paved the way for Kuwait's attaining these results.
Moreover, the ministry statement quoted the chairperson of the "peer (jurists) group," Widny Roland, as praising Kuwait's progress in implementing the recommendations to tackle the flaws that had existed in the beginning of the first examination process, thanking Kuwait for its rapid response and seriousness as to heeding the international taxation terms.
Roland congratulated Kuwait for passing to the second assessment phase with approval of all members of the panel without any remarks on the report.
Furthermore, the statement mentioned that the undersecretary Al-Mnaifi, along with the accompanying delegation, held a closed-door session with the Chairperson of the International Transparency Forum Zayda Manatta and the forum follow-up team, addressing joint efforts exerted over the past years since the State of Kuwait joined the forum in 2015.
Al-Mnaifi discussed with the other side requirements of the upcoming assessment phase, due in the last quarter of 2025, noting the need for intensive coordination to achieve the required commitment. She also stressed on the understanding expressed by the government and financial establishments in Kuwait as to the necessity of adhering to the international requirements.
For her part, Manatta affirmed that the follow-up group would continue to provide technical guidance to the State of Kuwait, noting the necessity that all Kuwaiti institutions coordinate to attain success in the second phase. (end)
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