Indirect Tax Senior – APAC

Job description

The Indirect Tax Senior – APAC is a hands-on execution role responsible for preparing, reconciling, and submitting indirect tax filings across the region as the APAC indirect tax shared service center is built out. The scope covers indirect tax (VAT/GST) and withholding tax compliance support, including e-invoicing compliance and implementation as jurisdictions across APAC roll out mandatory e-invoicing/e-filing regimes. This role performs the detailed technical and operational work — tax return preparation, data extraction and reconciliation, ERP tax code determination, and e-invoicing configuration — that underpins the compliance function, while working closely with the Indirect Tax Manager on process standardization and issue resolution. This position works closely with regional finance teams, and in particular with the BSC accounting team as these functions are expected to be centralized alongside indirect tax, together with procurement, logistics, and external advisors, to ensure indirect tax and withholding tax returns are prepared accurately and filed on time across multiple APAC jurisdictions. The role requires solid technical indirect tax knowledge, strong Excel and ERP data-handling skills, hands-on e-invoicing experience, and the discipline to manage recurring monthly and quarterly filing cycles across a multi-ERP, multi-country environment (SAP, Oracle, and other regional or legacy systems). The company operates in China, India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand. Key Responsibilities Indirect Tax Return Preparation & Submission • Prepare and file GST/VAT and other indirect tax returns for assigned APAC jurisdictions within statutory and internal deadlines. • Extract transaction-level data from ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, and regional/legacy platforms) and compile supporting workpapers for each return. • Apply correct tax treatment to sales, purchases, imports, exports, intercompany charges, and cross-border transactions when preparing returns. • Perform first-level review of transaction data to identify tax coding errors, missing tax determination, or anomalies before submission. • Complete input tax credit, blocked input tax, reverse charge, zero-rated and exempt supply calculations, and bad debt relief claims where applicable. • Submit returns via local e-filing portals or coordinate submission with local finance teams/external advisors where local filing access is required. • Support withholding tax (WHT) compliance within scope, including determination of applicable rates, preparation of WHT filings/certificates, and reconciliation of WHT accounts for assigned jurisdictions. • Support e-invoicing compliance and rollout across APAC jurisdictions with mandatory e-invoicing/e-filing regimes (e.g., Malaysia e-Invoicing), including invoice data validation, transmission monitoring, and issue resolution. • Maintain a filing calendar and tracker across all assigned countries, flagging upcoming deadlines and outstanding items proactively. • Work closely with the BSC accounting Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR) teams — as these functions are expected to be centralized within the BSC alongside indirect tax — to ensure correct tax coding at the point of transaction entry and to resolve tax-related queries on vendor and customer invoices. Reconciliation & Data Integrity • Perform monthly reconciliation of indirect tax and WHT payable/receivable balances against filed returns and the general ledger, investigating and resolving variances. • Maintain organized, audit-ready working papers, invoices, and supporting schedules in line with local statutory retention requirements and internal policy. • Support month-end and quarter-end close activities related to indirect tax and WHT accounts. Systems, Data & Process Support • Support ERP system implementations and upgrades, including tax code determination logic, configuration, and testing for indirect tax and e-invoicing requirements. • Extract, clean, and reconcile financial and transactional data across different ERP environments, including where source-data structures are inconsistent. • Build and maintain Excel-based tools (e.g., reconciliation templates, filing trackers, data-extraction macros) to support compliance and reduce manual effort. • Support the Manager in identifying opportunities to standardize and automate recurring compliance processes within the BSC, including e-invoicing readiness for new jurisdictions. • Assist with system testing, UAT, and data validation when ERP or e-invoicing/reporting tools are implemented or updated. Audit & Query Support • Compile supporting schedules, transaction listings, and documentation in response to indirect tax authority queries and audits. • Assist the Manager in tracking audit status, requested items, and response deadlines across jurisdictions. • Investigate root causes of data or coding issues identified during audits or reconciliations and support corrective action. Education and Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Tax, or a related discipline. • Professional qualification (e.g., CA, CPA, ACCA, CTA) in progress or preferred, but not required. • Ability to speak multiple languages is a plus. Experience • Approximately 3–4 years of relevant experience in indirect tax compliance, ideally with a mix of multinational industry and public accounting or advisory experience. • Strong compliance experience in South East Asia and Australia. Japan and Korea experience is preferable. • Hands-on experience preparing, reconciling, and submitting GST/VAT or similar transaction tax returns in at least one APAC jurisdiction. • Practical experience with e-invoicing implementation and compliance (e.g., Malaysia e-Invoicing or similar APAC mandates), including invoice validation and system configuration. • Experience supporting withholding tax (WHT) compliance, including rate determination and filing preparation. • Exposure to shared service center or centralized compliance operating models is an advantage. • Experience working with ERP systems such as SAP and/or Oracle, including involvement in ERP implementation or upgrade projects covering tax code determination. • Experience in a manufacturing, industrial, or multinational product-based environment is preferred. • Prior involvement supporting tax authority queries or audits is an advantage. Technical Knowledge • Working knowledge of indirect tax concepts (GST/VAT, reverse charge, input tax credit rules) and basic withholding tax concepts in one or more APAC countries. • Understanding of e-invoicing/e-filing requirements and mandates across APAC jurisdictions and how they integrate with ERP and tax reporting. • Understanding of ERP tax code setup, tax code determination logic, and how transaction data flows into tax reports, including in the context of ERP implementations or upgrades. • Familiarity with reconciliation of tax return positions to ledger balances and transactional source data. • Basic understanding of record retention requirements and indirect tax control documentation. Skills and Competencies • Strong, demonstrated Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, reconciliation formulas); comfort with large transactional data sets. • Practical ERP literacy and ability to navigate and extract data from multiple systems. • High attention to detail and accuracy under recurring filing deadlines. • Ability to manage multiple return cycles and deadlines across jurisdictions simultaneously. • Strong organizational skills and ownership of assigned filing calendar. • Good communication skills to clarify data issues with AP, AR, logistics, and finance stakeholders. • Willingness to learn and take on increasing technical and process responsibility over time.