Compliance

Recent Articles

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  10/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  Less Tax for Taxis?: VAT treatment of mobile ride-hailing services in HMRC v Bolt Services UK Ltd

  This case concerns the VAT treatment of rail-hailing services provided by Bolt Services UK Limited (“Bolt”). In HMRC v Bolt [2025] UKUT 00100 (TCC), the Upper Tribunal upheld the First-tier Tribunal's (FTT) decision that Bolt's mobile ride-hailing services fell within the Tour Operators' Margin Scheme (TOMS) for VAT purposes. This means accounting for VAT on the margin only (i.e. the difference between the price charged to the traveller and the cost to Bolt).Facts & BackgroundBolt is a licensed private hire vehicle (PHV) operator, which provides on-demand ride-hailing services through...

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  09/04/2025

  Singapore

  New Guidelines on Mandatory Breach Notifications under Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act 2010

  In February 2025, the Personal Data Protection Commissioner (the “Commissioner”) of Malaysia issued the Guidelines on Data Breach Notification (“DBN Guidelines”) providing guidance on mandatory breach notifications in Malaysia. The DBN Guidelines should be read with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (“PDPA”), which introduced the mandatory breach notification requirement. The mandatory breach notification requirement comes into force from 1 June 2025.Threshold for Notifications A. Notification to the Commissioner OnlyWhere a personal data breach is of...

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  07/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will go live from 1st July 2025

  The government has announced that the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will go live from 1st July this year.The Scheme requires the registration of:Arrangements to undertake political influence activities in the UK that are directed by a foreign power (the “Political Influence Tier”); andArrangements with foreign entities for such activities as may be specified (the “Enhanced Tier”).Arrangements registered under the Political Influence Tier will, subject to some exceptions, be published on a publicly available register.A key intent behind the Scheme is to increase transparency...

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  07/04/2025

  China

  New Rules on the Im­ple­ment­a­tion of China's Anti-foreign Sanctions Law

  The State Council of China recently released the Provisions on Implementation of the Anti-foreign Sanctions Law of the People's Republic of China (the “Implementation Provisions”), taking effect on 23 March 2025. The Implementation Provisions serve as more detailed regulations following the Anti-foreign Sanctions Law (the “AFSL”) which has effective as of 10 June 2021. They provide helpful clarification but partly increase the burden for enterprises conducting international business.1.   Expansion on definition of foreign sanctionThe AFSL primarily focuses on actions...

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  04/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  Gambling Commission introduces ban on mixed product promotional offers and cap on wagering requirements

  On 26 March 2025, the Gambling Commission published its response to its consultation on socially responsible incentives, confirming that it will introduce a ban on mixed product promotional offers and a cap on wagering requirements. Whilst the introduction of the cap may be somewhat of a relief for operators (given the Commission consulted on an outright ban), the prohibition on mixed product promotional offers has been criticised by some in the industry as potentially impacting smaller operators disproportionately and (as is argued in respect of many of the Commission’s tightening restrictions)...

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  02/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023: Launch of the Identity Verification Regime

  The Government’s new identity verification (IDV) regime for directors and controllers of UK companies launches on 8 April 2025. The regime will also apply to members and controllers of limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and, more narrowly, to limited partnerships and overseas companies with an establishment in the UK. The IDV regime is part of the package of reforms contained in the Economic Crime and Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) aimed at tackling economic crime and preventing the abuse of corporate structures by enhancing the transparency of corporations and those that control them.Until...

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