A UAE entity and an Indian entity need two separate Zoho Books organisations: one on the UAE edition, in dirhams, configured for VAT, and one on the India edition, in rupees, configured for GST. Zoho's own help confirms that in a country-specific edition, the country, base currency and time zone cannot be changed, and that taxes are handled differently in each edition. So the real work is not inside Zoho at all. It is in keeping two ledgers consistent with each other: matching tax treatment of the transactions between them, inter-company balances that agree, and a close calendar that serves two filing regimes.
This post covers how to set that up and run it month to month.
Two organisations, set up to mirror each other
Create each organisation in the edition for the country where the entity is registered. Each organisation has its own subscription, users and settings. Zoho runs regional data centres, so an India-edition and a UAE-edition organisation may sit in different regions. Confirm with Zoho how logins and user access will work across the two before setting up users.
Make the two charts of accounts mirror each other wherever the businesses are similar. Use the same account numbering logic, the same names for equivalent accounts, and a dedicated pair of inter-company accounts in each, such as Due from India entity in the UAE books and Due to UAE entity in the Indian books, or the reverse. Group reporting then becomes a mapping exercise rather than a reinterpretation every month.
Decide the base currencies at setup and get them right. Base currency follows the country edition. Zoho notes that changing it is available only in the Global edition, and even there only after deleting all transactions, custom accounts and opening balances.
Tax configuration: what differs
UAE organisation (VAT). Enter the Tax Registration Number, set up the standard, zero-rated and exempt treatments the business uses, and configure reverse charge for imported services. Pay attention to exchange rates. The FTA requires amounts on a tax invoice in a foreign currency to be converted into dirhams at the rate published by the Central Bank of the UAE for the date of supply, under Article 69 of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017. The FTA's public clarification adds that the rate must be used to the number of decimal places the Central Bank publishes. Zoho Books fetches exchange rates automatically by default, from Open Exchange Rates, and Zoho's UAE help itself notes that FTA rules require the Central Bank of UAE rate. So enter the Central Bank rate manually on foreign-currency invoices, or turn off the feed and maintain rates yourself.
Indian organisation (GST). Enter the GSTIN and registration date, set place of supply correctly for each customer, and configure reverse charge for imported services. If the entity is above the e-invoicing threshold, connect e-invoicing. For export invoices, record the Letter of Undertaking. For services, Rule 34(2) of the CGST Rules values foreign-currency supplies at the exchange rate determined under generally accepted accounting principles for the date of time of supply. That is a different test from the UAE's, so the two entities may legitimately use different rates for the same transaction.
The transactions between the two entities
Most of the complexity sits in the inter-company flows. Take the common case where the Indian entity provides services to the UAE entity: support, development, accounting or similar.
In the Indian books, this is potentially an export of services. It can be zero-rated if all five conditions of section 2(6) of the IGST Act are met. One condition is that the two are not merely establishments of a distinct person. CBIC Circular No. 161/17/2021-GST confirms that an Indian company and its foreign parent or subsidiary are separate persons, so the condition can be met. A branch is a different matter. The supply is invoiced under LUT without IGST, and receipt in convertible foreign exchange, or in rupees where RBI permits, must be evidenced for condition (iv).
In the UAE books, the same service is an import. A VAT-registered recipient generally accounts for it under the reverse charge. The UAE entity records the VAT due and, subject to the normal rules, recovers it in the same return.
The reverse flow, where the UAE entity invoices the Indian entity, is an import of services in India, with IGST payable by the Indian entity under reverse charge. On the UAE side it may qualify for zero-rating as an export, subject to the UAE's own conditions.
Three practical rules keep this manageable.
- Invoice in one currency, and agree in that currency. Each entity books the invoice in its own base currency at its own required rate. The dirham and rupee values will not mirror each other exactly, and they are not meant to. Reconcile inter-company balances in the invoice currency, usually USD or AED, and treat exchange differences as each entity's own.
- Same invoice number, same date, both sides. The Indian sales invoice and the UAE purchase bill should carry the same reference and date, so a monthly match is a lookup, not an investigation.
- Price at arm's length and document it. Both countries apply arm's length rules to related-party transactions. India does so through its transfer pricing provisions and annual accountant's report. The UAE does so under Article 34 of the Corporate Tax Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. Record the pricing basis, such as a cost-plus mark-up or an agreed rate card, in the inter-company agreement, and apply it consistently.
A close calendar that serves both regimes
The filing regimes run on different rhythms. In India, monthly GST filers file GSTR-1 by the 11th and GSTR-3B by the 20th of the following month, and TDS deposits fall due by the 7th (30 April for tax deducted in March). In the UAE, VAT returns and payment are due within 28 days of the end of each tax period, which for most businesses is a quarter.
A workable monthly sequence for both organisations:
- Days 1 to 3: bank and cash. Reconcile every bank account in both organisations. Record foreign receipts and payments against the right invoices.
- Days 3 to 5: inter-company match. Match every inter-company invoice and payment in the invoice currency. Agree the closing balance in that currency and investigate any mismatch before either side closes.
- Days 5 to 7: Indian GST and TDS. Finalise the outward supply register and export invoices for GSTR-1. Reconcile purchase credit with GSTR-2B. Calculate reverse charge on imported services. Deposit TDS by the 7th.
- Days 7 to 10: management reporting. Produce each entity's accounts, then a combined view using the mirrored charts.
- Quarter-end, by the 28th of the following month: UAE VAT return. Because the inter-company match has been done monthly, the reverse charge figures for imported services are already agreed.
- Month-end, both organisations: lock the period. Use Accountant > Transaction Locking in each organisation once the month is closed.
Financial years and year-end
Indian companies generally follow an April to March financial year under section 2(41) of the Companies Act, 2013. The proviso allows a company with a foreign holding company or subsidiary to apply to the Tribunal for a different year to align with group consolidation. Income tax in India still runs April to March. Many UAE entities use a calendar year, and the UAE Corporate Tax period follows the entity's financial year. If the years differ, plan year-end inter-company confirmations for both dates, and agree with the group's auditors which balances need to be confirmed at each.
Where this fits
Running the two organisations well is less about Zoho configuration than about discipline between them: mirrored charts, invoices matched in one currency, and a fixed monthly sequence. For the Indian export side of these flows, see GST on export of services after the Finance Act 2026 intermediary change.
Wissen Solutions sets up and runs paired UAE and India Zoho Books organisations through our Zoho Books consulting and migration services, including the monthly inter-company reconciliation and the close calendar for both entities.
Sources (checked 24 October 2026; filing dates and thresholds should be re-checked for the period concerned)
- Zoho Books: Using a different country edition: country, base currency and time zone fixed in country editions
- Zoho Books: Changing base currency
- Zoho Books: Currencies and exchange rate feeds
- Zoho Books: Transaction Locking
- UAE Federal Tax Authority: Filing VAT returns and making payments: 28-day deadline
- EY summary of FTA public clarification VATP004 on exchange rates: Article 69, Central Bank rate
- CGST Rules, Rule 34: exchange rate for valuation
- CBIC Circular No. 161/17/2021-GST: related companies not "merely establishments of a distinct person"