In-country value certificate and your business in UAE

An ICV-certified organisation avails a host of benefits that will help expansion within the country and beyond

In 2018, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) introduced the In-Country Value (ICV) programme to drive Emiratisation, GDP diversification and localisation of critical areas of the supply chain. The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi Ports, ALDAR Properties, Mubadala and ENEC joined hands with ADNOC in 2020 to launch a unified ICV certification process for suppliers in the UAE. Today, there are over 60 'participating entities' partnering on the programme.

In-Country Value refers to the degree of indigenisation of a business in the UAE.  "Put simply, the company's spend that remains inside and contributes to the UAE is calculated as its In-Country Value," says Peeyush Joardar, partner - ICV and audit at MBG Corporate Services, an approved ICV certifying body in the UAE.

A Unified ICV certificate, which consolidates the ICV process into a single certificate, is required by supplier companies to participate in procurement tenders of the participating entities.

As of December 2019, the ADNOC ICV programme had driven over Dh44 billion ($12 billion) back into the UAE's economy and put more than 1,500 Emiratis in the private sector. Over 3,000 companies in the UAE are ICV certified.

ICV certification includes, among others, goods manufactured, investment, Emiratisation, expatriate contribution, revenue from outside the UAE, and growth in investment.

The ICV certificate grants companies the first right of refusal in the tender process. While companies can still participate without an ICV certificate, their bids stand at a significant disadvantage as their ICV score component is zero.

"At MBG, our experts, experienced in issuing ICV certificates across multiple industries, help you obtain your certificate in quick time," Joardar says. "We help clients understand ICV and the factors that affect their ICV score; we then advise steps to improve the score through organisational restructuring, legal entity consolidation, investment planning, supply chain optimisation and manpower rationalisation, etc."

ICV certification is based on the audited financial statements of the company as per International Financial Reporting Standards. Financial statements should not be older than two years from the certification year. For companies with multiple entities, each license within a group is considered an independent legal entity.