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Banking Beyond Borders: Tackling Tax and Audit Hurdles in Cambodia

Event Details

Date:
December 8, 2023

Time:
2:00PM - 4:00PM

Venue:
The Association of Banks in Cambodia, Vattanac Tower

Note: All activities, publications, and events mentioned in this post were conducted under the name VDB Loi prior to our transition to Andersen in Cambodia on 18 September 2024.

Introduction

The financial sector has its own particular legal, tax, and accounting issues, but most tax rules are general in nature. So various points of tension exist in practice when banks are audited by the General Department of Taxation (“GDT”). In this highly practical workshop, we focus on the most relevant and challenging tax issues for banks in Cambodia.

Highlights

Payments for service fees, software, and shared services: the most common tax, VAT, and audit issues
Disputes with the GDT on the depreciation of assets
Which provisions and write-offs for non-performing loans are accepted by the GDT?
How to avoid tax problems and VAT issues when enforcing on debtor assets
How the GDT treats employee loans and advances
Transactions with the bank’s related parties: head office fees, rental, loans to related entities
How VAT on e-commerce affects banks in Cambodia

Registration is free of charge for members of the Association of Banks in Cambodia.
Send your information (name, position, company, email, contact number) to Ms. Yem Malin (abc_finance@abc.org.kh).

Speakers

Edwin Vanderbruggen

Senior Partner

Andersen in Cambodia

Edwin has over 30 years of experience as a legal and tax professional, academic, author, and government advisor. He has worked in Southeast Asia for nearly his entire career.

Edwin has built up vast experience advising sponsors, financial institutions, oil and gas supermajors, independent power producers, and other multinational enterprises on their projects in the region, including on multibillion dollar energy and infrastructure projects, mergers and acquisitions, and financing transactions.

He is renowned for his expertise in international taxation and investment, regional tax structuring, and tax planning.

He has assisted the governments of Cambodia (2006-2008 as a full-time adviser to the Minister of Finance), Thailand (2001-2005), Vietnam (2010), and Myanmar (2013-2020) on transactions or on issues such as legal reform, public finance, privatization, and taxation. He has also frequently consulted for IFC, ADB, the United Nations, and governmental agencies of Japan, Korea, and the Netherlands.

In his academic career, he has lectured at six prestigious universities in Europe and Asia, and written nine textbooks and over 40 scholarly articles, some of which have won scientific awards.

Laysym Sim

Partner

Andersen in Cambodia

Laysym is an experienced tax professional with a degree in management. He has over 20 years of work experience, including with KPMG in Cambodia, where he was responsible for relations with the tax authorities. Laysym works with a wide variety of clients, both local and international, across a broad range of industry sectors, with a particular focus on the real estate and transportation industries. He has advised on tax planning for large property projects, employee benefits, and has conducted tax due diligence on several major acquisitions in Cambodia.

Laysym heads the firm’s tax compliance and tax disputes teams. He has a long and proven track record of successful defense of multinationals, banks, and property developers. He also leads our transfer pricing practice in Cambodia.

Mariza Ung

Partner

Andersen in Cambodia

Mariza is an experienced legal professional, providing due diligence and structuring services to clients in a range of industry sectors. She is particularly known for her deep knowledge of the regulatory aspects of real estate and construction in Cambodia, including the regulatory aspects of large project transactions, such as licensing, and factory and environmental approvals. Furthermore, she has extensive experience in land issues. She has worked on some of the largest energy and infrastructure projects in the country, such as solar power plants, industrial zones, and island resorts.