ITR Middle East Tax Awards 2025: shortlist announced

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

ITR Middle East Tax Awards 2025: shortlist announced

ITR-Middle-East-Awards-2025-logo

ITR is delighted to reveal the first shortlisted nominees for the Middle East Tax Awards

The ITR Middle East Awards will make a keenly anticipated market debut in 2025. We are thrilled to be showcasing the region's dynamic tax accomplishments with highlight market coverage for Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

This year’s inaugural ceremony will be held jointly with our sister publication IFLR at the IFLR Middle East Awards, celebrating practice leaders in indirect tax, disputes, transfer pricing and direct tax work. Regional recognition will commend best newcomers, leaders in global executive mobility, tax compliance, and policy work. We will also be inducting our first honouree into ITR's Outstanding Achievement Award for the region.

Be sure to view our new unique Jurisdictions, Practice Leaders, Regional Awards, and Outstanding Achievement for more information.

By bringing together tax and legal professionals, we will enhance networking opportunities, and foster new connections and potential collaborations.

The winners of all the categories will be announced at the IFLR Middle East Awards ceremony on October 22, 2025, at the Mandarin Oriental Dubai, the key event on the calendar for all the region's top tax and legal talent! Don't forget to book your place!



For more information about how your firm can participate in the awards gala, please contact Hayley Charlick.

For any questions regarding the shortlist and our research, please contact John Harrison.



Without further ado, the 2025 ITR Middle East finalists are...

Jurisdiction Awards

Accordion override
  • Iraq

    Tax Firm of the Year
    Al Etihad Law Firm
    Deloitte
    Hinka for Tax Solutions
  • United Arab Emirates

    Indirect Tax Firm of the Year
    Andersen
    Baker McKenzie
    Dhruva Consultants
    DLA Piper Middle East
    Hourani & Partners
    Tax Disputes Firm of the Year
    Al Tamimi & Co
    Andersen
    Baker McKenzie
    Deloitte
    Hourani & Partners
    Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year
    Alvarez & Marsal
    Andersen
    Crowe Global
    Deloitte
    Eptalex - MEG Legal Services
    Grant Thornton
    Tax Firm of the Year
    Al Tamimi & Co
    Alvarez & Marsal
    Baker McKenzie
    Deloitte
    Dhruva Consultants
    DLA Piper Middle East
    Hourani & Partners
  • Saudi Arabia

    Indirect Tax Firm of the Year
    Al Tamimi & Co
    Baker McKenzie
    Deloitte
    DLA Piper
    Eptalex
    Tax Disputes Firm of the Year
    Al Tamimi & Co
    Baker McKenzie
    DLA Piper
    Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year
    Baker McKenzie
    Deloitte
    DLA Piper
    Tax Firm of the Year
    Al Tamimi & Co
    Baker McKenzie
    Deloitte
    DLA Piper
    Eptalex

Individual Awards

  • Practice Leaders

    Indirect Tax
    Ankur Jain, MMJS Consulting
    Gurleen Sethi, Andersen
    Mohamed El Baghdady, Habib Al Mulla and Partners
    Fernand Rutten, Deloitte
    Nimish Goel, Dhruva Consultants
    Tax Disputes
    Anuj Kapoor, Grant Thornton
    Shiraz Khan, Al Tamimi & Co
    Tina Hsieh, Baker McKenzie
    Ton van Doremalen, DLA Piper
    Zain Satardien, Hourani & Partners
    Transfer Pricing
    Aashna Mulgaonkar, TransPrice Tax Advisors
    Alessandro Valente, Crowe Strategic Consulting
    Mithilesh Sai Sannareddy, SBC - Steadfast Business Consulting
    Nithya Srinivasan, VSTN Consultancy
    Sahil Sharma, Andersen
    Tax
    Anurag Chaturvedi, Andersen
    Chris Sioufi, EY
    Basel Arafe, Deloitte
    Aunali Jaffer Merchant, MMJS Consulting
    Shiraz Khan, Al Tamimi & Co

Regional Awards

  • Best Newcomer

    Amereller
    DP Taxation Consultancy Co
    SBC - Steadfast Business Consulting
    VSTN Consultancy
  • Tax Compliance & Reporting Firm of the Year

    Andersen
    Deloitte
    Dhruva Consultants
    EY
    PGP Tax Consultancy
  • Middle East Firm of the Year

    Al Tamimi & Company
    Andersen
    Baker McKenzie
    Deloitte
    Dhruva Consultants
    Eptalex Law Firm
    Hourani & Partners
  • Global Executive Mobility Firm of the Year

    EY
    MDDP
    Deloitte
    PwC
  • Tax Policy Firm of the Year

    Al Tamimi & Company
    Alvarez & Marsal
    Baker McKenzie
    Deloitte
    Hourani & Partners

Outstanding Achievement

  • Outstanding Achievement

    Each year we aim to recognise a leader in the tax profession who has found success and great achievements over a long career. The winner will be announced at the gala ceremony in October!

We extend our warmest congratulations to all the shortlisted nominees - your achievements and contributions truly stand out. We look forward to celebrating with you at the awards gala this October. A sincere thank you to every firm that participated in our 2025 research; your insights and engagement continue to shape the future of tax and transfer pricing.


more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The event comes at an important moment for professionals dealing with practical realities related to this practice area
Germany’s dogmatic restriction of third-party investment in tax advisory firms will only serve to slow down innovation and access to justice
The Irish government has been told that it’s spending too much of its corporation tax receipts and should instead focus on running bigger surpluses; plus, the IRS is set to merge tax practitioner offices
A company risks double taxation, penalties and inquiry cost if it submits a form with anomalies under the new system, Asker Ali also tells ITR
Arindam Mitra and Robin Hart examine how aggregate TP rules clash with transaction-level customs rules, creating compliance risks and requiring granular, SKU-level pricing strategies
The scandal has come just three years after the PwC tax leaks controversy and has prompted KPMG’s Australian chief executive to resign
In the first of a two-part series on capital v revenue in R&D, Jayne Stokes explores these key concepts and where UK companies need to tread carefully
Magnus Pantzar is set to join as managing director after spending nearly a decade as EQT’s global head of tax
The OECD’s project was up for debate as Matt Williams spoke to ITR following BDO’s tax strategist survey, which uncovered increased complexity and costs among multinationals
The recent spree of firm mergers and acquisitions proves that geographic scale is the name of the game
Gift this article