Nilesh Ashar

Nilesh Ashar is a Tax Partner with KPMG based in Dubai with over 24 years of Big 4 International and M&A tax experience advising clients across emerging (Middle East / India) and mature economies (UK / Europe).

He has significant experience in advising a wide variety of clientele spread across sectors like real estate and infrastructure, financial services, SWF/ PE, oil and gas, retail, family owned businesses, etc. on international tax matters, cross border tax structuring, M&A tax, economic substance advisory, tax governance, transfer pricing, FATCA/ CRS advisory and VAT. He has an extensive experience in helping businesses manage tax risks, effective tax rates and improve their tax processes in the ever evolving business and transactional environment.

Nilesh has extensively advised MNEs on developing tax manuals/ governance frameworks to help them shape the tax function in the current global tax environment and managing their regional/ global tax compliances including meeting BEPS Action 13 documentation requirements, or the more recent economic substance regulations. He has also advised GCC headquartered MNEs on tax structuring and foreign investment regulations requirements and tax due diligence for global acquisitions / expansions.

He serves as the lead Tax Partner on a number of key accounts and advised on a range of tax issues including international and corporate tax, transfer pricing, VAT, customs duty, and global mobility tax issues.

He started his professional career with EY in India (Arthur Andersen upto 2002) and was relocated to EY London to set up the India Tax Desk, with business development, tax structuring and foreign investment advisory responsibilities for international companies in the UK and the European region, before relocating to UAE to lead KPMG’s tax practice in the UAE.

He is a regular speaker at seminars, conferences, client workshops and various industry forums and has contributed to many thought leaderships and views on tax matters in print and television/ radio.