Indian Newslink Feb 15, 2016 Digital Edition

February 15, 2016 COMMUNITYLINK
17
Halal Tour packages extend to 65 destinations
Halal Trip has created a bespoke portfolio of Muslim friendly tour packages that includes excursions and activities
to cities across the world including Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.
Online Muslim travel
platform, Halal Trip, has
unveiled the industry’s
most comprehensive
tour packages to over 65 global
destinations.
Halal Trip has created a bespoke
portfolio of Muslim friendly
tour packages that includes
excursions and activities to
cities across the world including
Europe, North America, Middle
East, Africa and South East Asia.
The tour packages, available
on its website as well as
through the mobile app, is
tailored specifically for Muslim
consumers - a sector predicted
to grow to US$200 billion in the
next four years.
Extensive choice
Consumers can choose a tour
package to suit their needs from
options such as type of holiday,
which region of the world to
duration. Each package is also
rated on how Muslim-friendly
it is by Halal Trip’s sister firm,
Crescent Rating –a leading
authority on Halal travel.
Halal Trip Chief Executive
Fazal Bahardeen said,“It is
widely recognised that the
Muslim travel market is becoming
increasingly important and
lucrative to the travel sector and
the launch of these exclusive
worldwide tour packages is a
A perfect morning at Nusa Dua beach, Bali, Indonesia.
reflection on this fact. Muslim
consumers are keen to explore
new destinations and experience
different cultures, which
is why we have launched these
tailored packages that cater for
every occasion together with
satisfying needs such as Halal
food and prayer facilities.”
“Whether it is experiencing
Great White Sharks in South Africa,
taking in some culture and
history in Spain, honeymooning
in Maldives or shopping in
Dubai, we have something for
every need,” he added.
The packages not only include
tours to the world’s most
popular destinations such as
Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Cape
Town, Maldives, and London
but also cities such as Tbilisi,
Dubrovnik and Kunming.
Halal Trip plans to add more
destinations in the coming
months.
As part of the tour packages
launch, Halal Trip has also
Photo:Tanti Ruwani/flickr
partnered with MasterCard to
provide exclusive benefits to
MasterCard cardholders.
Good Rating
CrescentRating has rated each
tour package from Bronze to
Gold against a range of criteria
that includes the availability of
Halal food and prayer facilities.
The Muslim travel market is
now widely recognised as a key
growth tourism sector projected
to be worth US$200 billion by
2020 according to the Master-
Card-CrescentRating Global
Muslim Travel Index 2015.
Please visit www.halaltrip.
com or download Halal Trip
mobile application for iOS or
Android devices.
Five Top Packages
• Gems of Islamic Spaineight-day
tour that
highlights Madrid and visits
the three most celebrated
cities of Al Andalus including
Cordoba, Granada and
Seville.
• Sweet Escape- three-day
Honeymoon Package to Bali
• Amazing Balkan- 12 Days
Tour to Greece, Macedonia,
Albania, Montenegro, Croatia
and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
• Shark Cage Diving - Full-day
unforgettable underwater
experience with the Great
White Sharks near Cape
Town.
• Dubai Shopping Festival-Five
days of shopping extravaganza
including a desert
safari with a BBQ Dinner,
tour of Dubai and a visit to
the Marina Dhow Cruise with
dinner.
Material Supplied
Tax Agent
withdraws
status appeal
The company of tax evader
Accountant Imran Mohammed
Kamal has withdrawn its appeal
of a Wellington High Court
decision that it should lose its tax agency
status.
The appeal by Accountants First Ltd
was due to be heard in the Court of
Appeal in Auckland in November 2015,
but was withdrawn shortly before the
hearing’s scheduled date.
This means the company is no longer
a tax agent and cannot promote itself as
such.
Inland Revenue Department (IRD)
Deputy Commissioner (Service Delivery)
Arlene White was pleased that the
October 2014 High Court decision stood
and that the matter has ended.
“Tax agents play an important role in
New Zealand’s tax system by helping
taxpayers to understand and meet
their tax obligations. Tax agents who
are approved by IRD hold an elevated
position of trust and are expected
to model exemplary compliance
behaviours,” she said.
Key player
Kamal was a key player in the high
profile tax evasion case involving
Brent Gilchrist, Scott Anderson, and
Accountants First Ltd.
Following the convictions of Kamal
and Accountants First Limited in 2013,
IRD decided to remove the company
from its list of approved tax agents.
The Department had considered that
the company could not be trusted as a
tax agent to comply with the law. Under
the Tax Administration Act 1994, IRD
can revoke a tax agent’s status if the
integrity of the tax system would be
adversely affected.
Ms White said that the offending
involved significant deception and
dishonesty, including creation of false
invoices and money being paid overseas
and channelled back to a bank account
of Kamal’s in Vanuatu.
“It is important that taxpayers can
trust their tax agent, and in turn those
companies and agents have a duty to
uphold the integrity of the tax system,”
she said.
Inland Revenue Department Press
Release
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