New indirect taxes: Jobs boom at top accounting firms in India and Gulf

The ‘Big Four’ multinational accounting firms have doubled the size of their indirect tax teams in this country, to cater to the sharp rise in demand arising from implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) here and introduction of value-added tax (VAT) in West Asia.

PwC India, EY, Deloitte, and KPMG have expanded the size of their indirect tax teams by 100 per cent over the past 12 to 18 months.

Rolled out from July 1 last year, GST is yet to stabilise with the rules. Rates and filing requirements are undergoing frequent changes. This is leading to exponential rise in workload for tax professionals.

“Our indirect tax employee strength has doubled from 2016 till date to 900-plus practitioners,” the EY spokesperson told Business Standard.

PwC India’s indirect tax team has grown from 300 a year before to about 750. Deloitte’s has grown from 250 to 550 professionals. At KPMG, the indirect tax team has grown from 200 to 450 during the period.

“GST changed the way businesses are managed, from manufacturing to distribution.  It offered unprecedented opportunities not only to consultants but also to industry,” said Pratik Jain, partner, PwC India.

He said while the one-time transition is over, things are yet to stabilise. “Aspects such as anti-profiteering, compliance-related changes and vendor management are occupying the minds of senior management in businesses.  With the role of technology becoming more important in taxes, we believe the role of consultants are also changing.  We would continue to grow at a fast pace,” said Jain. 

Another expert said while the size of the indirect tax market had seen a tremendous increase, it would shrink  once GST stabilises. “We were working even on Sundays till two months ago. On Saturdays, we still go in to work,” he said.

The slew of changes on account of introduction of GST like anti-profiteering, e-way bill and rules meant companies have had to take help from professionals.

West Asian demand

Close to 200 indirect tax professionals from the Big Four combined are posted in West Asia, to keep up with the demand after implementation of VAT for the first time in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from January 1, 2018. The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has started implementing VAT in order to diversify their source of income beyond oil reserves. 

While Saudi Arabia and UAE have led with a five per cent VAT, others like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar will be introducing it over the next two years.

“The Gulf countries had no tax before and are now relying on India for professional support, due to cultural similarity. We are catering to a lot of demand there. It will only grow once other member-counties of GCC introduce VAT,” said an indirect tax leader of a top accounting firm in India, who did not wish to be named.