Asian Legal Review

Businesses liable for value-added tax (VAT) in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states will usually have to complete an apportionment exercise in order to correctly calculate the extent to which they are entitled to deduct the VAT they incur on their own purchases.

A Vietnamese blogger for Radio Free Asia has vanished after fleeing to Thailand, the news organisation said Tuesday, as rights activists voiced fear that he had been abducted.
Truong Duy Nhat – a weekly blogger for the Vietnamese service of Radio Free Asia, which aims to provide news to countries that lack press freedom – last made contact with editors on January 26, a day after he applied for refugee status with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok, the US-funded…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a package of consumer protection measures aimed at pension savers who draw down their savings on retirement, rather than purchasing an annuity.

Actress Angelina Jolie said on Tuesday that Myanmar must “show genuine commitment” to end violence that has driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims into neighbouring Bangladesh.
The superstar envoy for the UN refugee agency made the comments on the second day of emotional meetings with Rohingya, including rape survivors, in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh, where some 740,000 refugees have fled since August 2017. There were already about 300,000 in camps before…

It boasts a gym, pool, gallery, beauty salon and helipad – not to mention space for sleeping 22 guests – and it’s up for sale at around half its purchase price. Yet finding a buyer for the 300-foot superyacht Equanimity, one of the most striking assets at the heart of the 1MDB scandal, is not proving to be an easy task.
The boat stands out among possessions being sold by Malaysian authorities keen to recoup funds allegedly lost…

ANALYSIS: A push to set new principles around the licensing of standard-essential patents highlights the growing number of businesses whose operations, products and services now rely on standardised technology.

Hundreds of musicians in Indonesia have lashed out against what they say is a ludicrous draft law that could “destroy” freedom of expression.
Among the most contentious aspects of the draft is Article 5, which outlaws “negative foreign influences” as well as blasphemous or pornographic content, punishable by imprisonment or a fine. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SID (@sid_official) on Dec 6, 2018 at 6:50pm PST The…

Each night after her children finally fall asleep, Mehala Sekar spends hours at her home in south India, sewing, cutting and checking clothing given to her by a garment factory contractor.
For each finished item, Sekar earns less than one Indian rupee (US$0.0141), and like millions of other “invisible” home-based workers in India, she is being exploited by the country’s garment industry, according to research published on Friday.
“If I went to a factory, I would earn…

As Chinese across the world get ready to celebrate the Year of the Pig, in Muslim-majority Malaysia some shopping centres and brands are sidestepping outright representations of the animal to avoid upsetting cultural sensitivities. Usually shopping malls mark festive occasions with elaborate decorations and attractions, drawing snap-happy crowds – but this year, pigs are off the menu. Paradigm Mall, a shopping centre in suburban Petaling Jaya, is instead prominently featuring…

A man was arrested after officials found a leopard cub smuggled in his bag on board a flight from Bangkok to Chennai, India, authorities said on Saturday.
The cub, weighing just over 1kg, was found in a plastic grocery basket hidden inside a carry-on bag after the passenger arrived in India on the Thai Airways flight.
Officials said they grew suspicious after hearing sounds coming from the bag, and stopped the passenger as he tried to rush out of the terminal in the capital city of southern…