Dubai, Dec 9 (Emirates 247): The Government of the United Arab Emirates has issued a statement expressing its surprise and disappointment that it has been included by the European Union in a list of non-compliant tax jurisdictions.

In the statement, the UAE highlighted its full commitment to maintaining the highest international standards of financial oversight and tax regulation, saying it will continue to work with international partners to deliver this.

The UAE’s Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Younis Haji Al-Khouri, said, "The UAE has worked to meet the European Union’s requirements in terms of exchanging tax-related information."

"We have committed to a reform process which will be finalised by October 2018, and we are absolutely confident this will ensure the UAE is swiftly removed from the list.

"We look forward to moving into the next phase of cooperation with our EU partners on the important issue of tax regulation."

The statement added, "Since early 2017, the UAE has worked transparently with European Union counterparts to ensure that we meet the criteria laid down by European Union Member States.

"As the European Union has itself noted, the UAE has addressed each and every issue the EU has raised. The UAE has drafted, legislated and implemented significant reforms to ensure that we remain in lock-step with our OECD partners and international best practice."

It continued, "The sole outstanding issue is the implementation of the Base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, Minimum Standard, which we have committed to finalise by October 2018 and ratify by March 2019 – giving our federal structure sufficient time to allow for ratification across the seven Emirates. We stand by this realistic timeline."

"The UAE will continue to work with international partners on this issue, and is confident that it will be recognised as an internationally compliant partner at the EU’s next review," the statement concluded.