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Asia Tax Awards 2020: The winners

The winners of the ITR Asia Tax Awards have been announced in a webinar presentation.

By Prin Shasiharan

August 26 2020

The winners of ITR Asia Tax Awards have been announced

ITR is delighted to announce the winners of the 10th ITR Asia Tax Awards.

KPMG was announced as the Asia tax firm of the year, achieving widespread national and regional success. Deloitte and EY were crowned as Asia transfer pricing firm of the year and Asia tax litigation and disputes firm of the year, respectively. These two firms also won a string of awards across the Asia-Pacific region in a number of categories.

Discovery claimed the title as the Asia in-house direct tax team of the year, while Infosys and Lupin were recognised as the leading in-house transfer pricing and indirect tax teams, respectively.

Baker McKenzie, Grant Thornton and DFDL were among the firms who won regional awards for their excellence.

Given the difficult environment due to COVID-19, we are unable to host an awards ceremony this year to recognise the work highlighted below. However, we remain keen to fulfil any promotions that firms would like to undertake on the back of their success and request that you contact ITR's head of business development for events, James Murray, with any queries.

Please also listen to our first ITR Awards webinar, where we announce the winners.

A full list of shortlisted firms for the 2020 ITR Asia Tax Awards was released in June 2020.

National Awards

Australia Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills

• Ashurst Australia

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• DLA Piper

• KPMG

• MinterEllison

Australia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: MinterEllison

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills

• Johnson Winter & Slattery

• KPMG

• Transfer Pricing Solutions

Australia Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Ashurst Australia

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills

• KPMG

• MinterEllison

Cambodia Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: DFDL

• Bun & Associates

• Deloitte

• Sciaroni & Associates

• Tilleke & Gibbins

China Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• DLA Piper

• EY

• JunHe

• Zhong Lun

China Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• DLA Piper

• KPMG

China Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• DLA Piper

• Jingtian & Gongcheng

• WTS China

• Zhong Lun

Hong Kong SAR Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• KPMG

• Oldham Li & Nie

Hong Kong SAR Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• DLA Piper

• EY

Hong Kong SAR Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• DLA Piper

• EY

India Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Dhruva Advisors

• AZB & Partners

• Deloitte

• EY

• Khaitan & Co

• KPMG

• Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

India Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• Ashok Maheshwary & Associates

• Dhruva Advisors

• EY

• Grant Thornton

• KPMG

• Nexdigm (SKP)

India Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: Dhruva Advisors

• Advaita Legal

• Deloitte

• Economic Laws Practice, Taxand India

• EY

• Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

• Trilegal

Indonesia Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International

• Assegaf Hamzah & Partners

• DDTC

• Deloitte

• GNV Consulting

• KPMG

• RSM

Indonesia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• DDTC

• GNV Consulting

• Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International

• MUC Consulting Group

• TaxPrime

• SF Consulting, Crowe Indonesia

Indonesia Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: GNV Consulting

• Assegaf Hamzah & Partners

• Deloitte

• EY

• Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International

• KPMG

• TaxPrime

Japan Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

• Baker McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise)

• Deloitte

• EY

• KPMG

• Nishimura & Asahi

• Withers Japan Zeirishi Houjin

Japan Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Baker McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise)

• Deloitte

• DLA Piper

• KPMG

• Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, Taxand Japan

• Nishimura & Asahi

Japan Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

• Anderson Mori & Tomotsune

• Baker McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise)

• EY

• Nishimura & Asahi

• TMI Associates

• Withers Japan Zeirishi Houjin

Malaysia Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• Baker Tilly

• KPMG

• Shearn Delamore & Co

• Wong & Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International

Malaysia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• Baker Tilly

• EY

• KPMG

• Wong & Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International

Malaysia Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: Shearn Delamore & Co

• Deloitte

• KPMG

• Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill

• Wong & Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International

Myanmar Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: VDB Loi

• DFDL

• EY

• KPMG

• Tilleke & Gibbins

New Zealand Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Bell Gully

• Buddle Findlay

• Deloitte

• KPMG

• Russell McVeagh

New Zealand Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• EY

• KPMG

• Russell McVeagh

• TP EQuilibrium AustralAsia - A Duff & Phelps Transfer Pricing Alliance Partner

New Zealand Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: EY Law

• Bell Gully

• Deloitte

• KPMG

• Russell McVeagh

Pakistan Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Akhund Forbes Hadi

• Grant Thornton

• Vellani & Vellani

• Yousaf Amanat & Associates

Philippines Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

• Deloitte

• Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra

• KPMG R G Manabat & Co

• Quisumbing Torres, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International

Philippines Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• KPMG R G Manabat & Co

• SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co (EY)

Philippines Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: Zambrano Gruba Caganda & Advincula

• Deloitte

• Du-Baladad and Associates, WTS Global

• KPMG R G Manabat & Co

• SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

Singapore Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Allen & Gledhill

• Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow

• Deloitte

• EY

• Rajah & Tann

• Withers KhattarWong

Singapore Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow

• BDO

• Deloitte

• KPMG

• RSM

• Transfer Pricing Solutions

Singapore Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow

• Deloitte

• Dentons Rodyk & Davidson

• Drew & Napier

• EY

• KPMG

• Rajah & Tann

South Korea Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Yulchon

• Deloitte

• Kim & Chang

• Lee & Ko

• Samjong KPMG

South Korea Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• Kim & Chang

• Samjong KPMG

• Yoon & Yang

• Yulchon

South Korea Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: Kim & Chang

Deloitte

Lee & Ko

Samjong KPMG

Yulchon

Sri Lanka Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Julius & Creasy

• D L & F De Saram

• John Wilson Partners

• KPMG

• Sudath Perera Associates

Taiwan Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• Baker McKenzie

• EY

• Grant Thornton

• KPMG

Taiwan Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Deloitte

• Grant Thornton

• KPMG

Taiwan Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• EY

• KPMG

Thailand Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• DFDL

• Kudun & Partners

• Lorenz & Partners, WTS Global

Thailand Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• Kudun & Partners

• Tilleke & Gibbins

Thailand Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: Baker McKenzie

• Blumenthal Richter & Sumet

• KPMG

• Lorenz & Partners, WTS Global

• R&T Asia (Thailand), Rajah & Tann

Vietnam Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Deloitte

• DFDL

• UHY

• WTS Tax Vietnam, Grünkorn & Partner Law, WTS Global

Vietnam Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• Baker McKenzie

• DFDL

• KPMG

• RSM

Vietnam Tax Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: DFDL

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• KPMG

• UHY

Individual Awards

Asia Tax Practice Leader of the Year

Winner: Dinesh Kanabar, Dhruva Advisors

• Jenny Clarke, KPMG

• Atsushi Fujieda, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

• Manuel Makas, Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills

• Jack Sheehan, DFDL

• Jean Loi, VDB Loi

• Adeline Wong, Wong & Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International

Asia Transfer Pricing Practice Leader of the Year

Winner: Theresa Goh, Deloitte

• Felicia Chia, KPMG

• Tony Gorgas, KPMG

• Vijay Iyer, EY

• Charles Oetomo, GNV Consulting Services

• Craig Silverwood, MinterEllison

• Tae Yeon Nam, Kim & Chang

Asia Tax Litigation and Disputes Practice Leader of the Year

Winner: Steven Sieker, Baker McKenzie

• Sudipta Bhattacharjee, Advaita Legal

• Yun Heui Cho, Yulchon

• Goh Ka Im, Shearn Delamore & Co

• Carmen McElwain, MinterEllison

• Vikna Rajah, Rajah & Tann

• Tori Sullivan, EY Law

Asia Indirect Tax Practice Leader of the Year

Winner: Lachlan Wolfers, KPMG

• Sarah Chin, Deloitte

• V. Lakshmikumaran, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

• Kenneth Leung, EY

• Sachin Menon, KPMG

• Sumet Mingmongkolmitr, Blumenthal Richter & Sumet

• Barbara Phair, Ashurst

In-house Awards

In-house Tax Team of the Year

Winner: Discovery

• Aboitiz Equity Ventures

• Freeport

• Infosys

• Lupin

• RBS

• Sime Darby Berhad

In-house Transfer Pricing Team of the Year

Winner: Infosys

• Discovery

• Macquarie Group

• Rio Tinto

In-house Indirect Tax Team of the Year

Winner: Lupin

• Discovery

• Infosys

In-house Tax Director of the Year

Winner: Ramesh Khaitan, Lupin

• Yin Ling Chuw, Sime Darby Berhad

• Sunil Kumar Dhareshwar, Infosys

• Umang Dhingra, formerly Discovery

• Alison Haines, Carlton & United Breweries

• Kevin Witts, HSBC

In-house Transfer Pricing Director of the Year

Winner: Renu Narvekar, Tata Consultancy Services

• Arthur Begetis, ResMed

• Nick Leak, Rio Tinto

• Patrick Thompson, Morgan Stanley

In-house Indirect Tax Director of the Year

Winner: Dinesh Mittal, Walmart

• Pritam Kaur, Syngenta

• Mohan Nusetti, Lupin

Tax Official of the Year

Winner: Chris Jordan, Commissioner of Taxation, Australia

• Caesar Dulay, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Philippines

• Wang Jun, Commissioner of the State Administration of Taxation, China

• Robert Pakpahan, former Director General of Taxes, Indonesia

• Akhilesh Ranjan, former Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) member, India

Deals and Cases

Impact deals

Alibaba HKEX IPO: Fangda Partners, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, King & Wood Mallesons, Maples and Calder, PwC, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Anta Sports acquisition of Amer Sports: Fangda Partners, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Kirkland & Ellis, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, White & Case

ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel acquisition of Essar Steel: Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, L&L Partners, S&R Associates, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, Shearman & Sterling

Asset World Corporation SET IPO: Allen & Overy, Latham & Watkins, Weerawong Chinnavat & Partners, White & Case

Brookfield/Infratil acquisition of Vodafone NZ: Bell Gully, Buddle Findlay, Chapman Tripp, MinterEllisonRuddWatts

Brookfield Business Partners acquisition of Healthscope: Ashurst, King & Wood Mallesons

Budweiser HKEX IPO: Clifford Chance, Conyers Dill & Pearman, Fangda Partners, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Gilbert + Tobin, Kim & Chang, King & Wood Mallesons, PwC, Sullivan & Cromwell

CapitaLand acquisition of Ascendas-Singbridge: Allen & Gledhill, Drew & Napier, WongPartnership

FWD Group completes acquisition of SCB Life Assurance: Baker McKenzie, Linklaters, Slaughter and May

KKR acquisition of LCY: Baker McKenzie, Lee & Li, Simpson Thacher Bartlett

IRCTC BSE/NSE IPO: Hogan Lovells, J Sagar Associates, M/s Crawford Bayley & Co

Postal Savings Bank of China SSE IPO: Haiwen & Partners, King & Wood Mallesons

PTTEP acquisition of Murphy Oil: Adnan Sundra & Low, Gibson Dunn, Jones Day, Skrine

SK Group acquisition of a stake in Vingroup: Baker & McKenzie, Equity Law, Latham & Watkins, YKVN

Tata Steel acquisition of Bhushan Energy: AZB & Partners, L&L Partners, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

Regional Awards

Diversity and Inclusion Firm of the Year in Asia

Winner: KPMG (Asia-Pacific)

• Baker McKenzie (Thailand)

• Deloitte (New Zealand)

• Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills

Best Newcomer of the Year in Asia

Winner: Transaction Square

• CTL Strategies

• Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra

• Nitya Tax Associates

• TBrights

US Corporate Tax Team of the Year in Asia

Winner: Grant Thornton

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• EY

• KPMG

Regional Tax Law Firm of the Year in Asia

Winner: DFDL

• Allen & Gledhill

• Rajah & Tann

• Tilleke & Gibbins

• Transfer Pricing Solutions

International Tax Law Firm of the Year in Asia

Winner: Baker McKenzie

• Ashurst

• Dentons

• DLA Piper

• Withers

Asia Global Executive Mobility Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Ashok Maheshwary & Associates

• Deloitte

• Grant Thornton

• Lorenz & Partners, WTS Global

• MinterEllison

• Shearn Delamore & Co

Asia Withholding Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

• Deloitte

• Dhruva Advisors

• KPMG

• Shearn Delamore & Co

• VDB Loi

• Yulchon

Asia Tax Innovator of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• EY

• Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra

• Transfer Pricing Solutions

• TraTax, WTS Malaysia

Asia Tax Technology Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Deloitte

• KNAV

• KPMG

• Riverus Technology Solutions, Verus

• Taxamo

• Yulchon

Asia Tax Compliance and Reporting Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• EY

• RSM

• UHY

• Yoon & Yang

Asia Tax Policy Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Baker McKenzie

• DDTC

• DLA Piper

• Du-Baladad and Associates, WTS Global

• KPMG

• Rajah & Tann

Asia Tax Transactions Firm of the Year

Winner: Kim & Chang

• Allen & Gledhill

• Baker McKenzie

• EY

• Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills

• KPMG

• Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

Asia Indirect Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• EY

• KPMG

• Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

• Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

• Shearn Delamore & Co

• Yulchon

Asia Tax Litigation and Disputes Firm of the Year

Winner: EY

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• Kim & Chang

• KPMG

• Rajah & Tann

• Yulchon

Asia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Winner: Deloitte

• Baker McKenzie

• EY

• KPMG

• Grant Thornton

• RSM

• Transfer Pricing Solutions

Asia Tax Firm of the Year

Winner: KPMG

• Baker McKenzie

• Deloitte

• DFDL

• DLA Piper

• EY

• Rajah & Tann

Editors' Choice

For his services to furthering direct taxation in India

Winner: Akhilesh Ranjan

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