In-Country Value (ICV) certification drives national employment and investment into the UAE Economy

9 February, 2021 - Deloitte in collaboration with the Indian Business and Professionals Group (IBPG) in Abu Dhabi recently held a Unified In-Country Value (ICV) program webinar. The objective of the webinar, where entities such as ADNOC, ALDAR and Certifying Bodies Deloitte and ARDENT participated in, was to raise awareness of the Unified ICV Program among the business community in the United Arab Emirates.

ICV certificates need to be obtained for each legal entity having a valid UAE industrial/commercial license and which intends to participate in tenders with any of the Participating Entities. The validity of the ICV certificate is for a period of 14 months from the date of the audit report. A supplier can get recertified during the validity of the ICV certificate if they choose to, using the same audited financial statements, but the validity of 14 months from the first issue will remain.

Padmanabha Acharya, UAE Audit Leader and Partner at Deloitte, President of IBPG, moderated the webinar, and stressed the importance of the ICV program to the UAE in expanding business opportunities for entities based in the country and generating employment opportunities for UAE nationals.

The webinar featured a presentation by Hamad Saif Belmahaina, Chairman of the ICV Committee and In-Country Value Development Manager at ADNOC. During his presentation, Belmahaina reiterated the objectives of the Program and the journey from the ADNOC ICV Program (2017) to the Unified ICV Program (2020). He also highlighted the key enhancements and achievements of the Program to date, including the creation of more than 2000 job opportunities for Emiratis in the private sector and AED 76 billion being driven back into the UAE economy.

Acharya then led a panel discussion with ICV experts comprising Hamad Belmahaina, Ravee Valia, Assistant Vice President, ICV Program at ALDAR, Nirbhay Vaidya, Partner at ARDENT Advisory and Accounting and Faeza Sohawon, Audit Partner and UAE ICV Leader at Deloitte.

“It is a privilege to host this webinar in collaboration with IBPG to share key insights and best practices on ICV implementation in the UAE. Having representatives from ADNOC, ALDAR and ARDENT fueled an open and knowledge-sharing discussion which will raise awareness of the Unified ICV Program among the business community in the UAE and beyond,” said Acharya.

Valia spoke about ALDAR’s perspective of the program and its implementation process. He pointed the recent achievements by ALDAR in terms of driving value into the UAE economy and ALDAR’s future plans.

“ADNOC is committed to constant improvement and actions to the ICV Program. The Program, in its current version, reduces the regulatory burden of suppliers undertaking multiple certificates, as only one certificate is now accepted by all the Participating Entities (ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, ALDAR, Abu Dhabi Ports, ENEC and Mubadala) of the Program,” said Belmahaina.

The panel discussion was followed by an extensive Q&A session by the attendees where their questions were answered by the panelists.

Sridhar Iyengar, Treasurer of the IBPG, closed the webinar and said, “The ICV Program will achieve optimal value for the entire UAE economy with specific focus on GDP diversification, Emiratization and personal development opportunities for UAE nationals in the private sector. Since the requirements and the licensing formalities are simple, and there are many commercial benefits to be availed, coupled with the opening up of strategic capabilities and servicing scope for the business community, I would urge the members of the Indian Business & Professional Group to apply for the ICV certification.” 

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