Location: Pune, MAHĀRĀSHTRA, India
Department: Finance
Job Description
Role Purpose:
Provide high-quality regional tax operations and compliance support across AMEA & JANZ, spanning indirect tax, withholding tax and corporate tax compliance. The role enables accurate, timely and controlled tax reporting; supports local entities and regional tax leadership in meeting statutory obligations; and strengthens tax governance, data quality, process standardization and audit readiness.
The role works within Group Tax policies, Global Syngenta Standards (GSM), applicable local legislation and approved tax-control frameworks. It does not replace local legal accountability or external adviser responsibilities, but coordinates, prepares, reviews and escalates matters to enable compliant local execution.
Key Accountabilities:
1. Indirect Tax Compliance and Operations
- Manage and support VAT/GST, sales tax, customs-related and other indirect tax compliance activities for assigned entities, including return preparation, review support, filings, payments, reconciliations and statutory reporting.
- Support accurate indirect tax accounting, input-tax-credit / refund monitoring, tax-code validation and reconciliation of tax returns to general ledger, sub-ledger and source data.
- Identify recurring compliance issues, data gaps and process-control failures; coordinate remediation with Finance Operations, business teams, IT and local tax contacts.
- Support indirect tax registrations, de-registrations, periodic reporting and local authority correspondence, under the direction of the responsible tax manager.
2. Withholding Tax and Corporate Tax Compliance Support
- Support country teams and regional tax leadership with corporate income tax compliance calendars, tax-return data collection, computations and filing coordination for assigned entities.
- Prepare or review recurring tax compliance workpapers, including taxable-income bridges, tax adjustments, withholding tax support, tax-payment schedules and supporting reconciliations, in accordance with local requirements and defined review protocols.
- Support quarterly and annual tax accounting activities, including current tax, deferred tax data inputs, effective tax rate analysis, tax provision support and balance-sheet reconciliations in partnership with Finance, Accounting and external advisers.
- Coordinate the timely collection, validation and retention of documentation required for local corporate tax returns, statutory accounts and tax disclosures.
- Monitor filing, payment and reporting deadlines; maintain a regional compliance tracker; and promptly escalate late, incomplete or high-risk items.
3. Governance, Controls and Risk Management
- Operate and continuously improve a consistent regional tax compliance calendar, evidence repository, review checklist and issue/escalation log across AMEA & JANZ.
- Implement Group Tax policies, regional tax frameworks, standard operating procedures (SOPs), process maps, risk-control matrices and desk-level instructions.
- Perform data-quality and completeness checks, maintain auditable support for key tax positions and ensure documentation is retained in accordance with internal and local requirements.
- Escalate material tax exposures, uncertain positions, significant filing delays, control deficiencies and changes in local legislation to regional tax leadership without delay.
4. Audit, Assessment and Advisory Support
- Coordinate information gathering and prepare supporting schedules for tax audits, assessments, investigations and statutory/external audits across direct and indirect taxes.
- Maintain audit trackers, manage document requests and support timely, consistent responses in collaboration with local finance teams, Group Tax, legal teams and external advisers.
- Support implementation of agreed remediation actions arising from audits, assessments, internal controls testing or process reviews.
5. Process Excellence, Digital Enablement and Stakeholder Engagement
- Identify opportunities to simplify, standardise and automate tax compliance processes, including use of SAP data, Excel, Power Query, workflow tools and approved AI/digital solutions.
- Support system and process change initiatives by documenting tax requirements, testing impacts, validating master data and communicating revised tax procedures.
- Prepare regional dashboards, compliance status reports, risk summaries and management presentations for Group Tax and Finance leadership.
- Deliver practical training and regulatory-update sessions to finance and business stakeholders, promoting a consistent culture of tax compliance and timely escalation.
Critical Success Factors and Key Challenges
- Delivering complete, accurate and timely tax compliance across diverse jurisdictions, tax systems, languages and statutory calendars.
- Balancing regional standardisation with country-specific legal requirements, business models and operating realities.
- Translating high-volume finance and operational data into reliable tax reporting and defensible audit evidence.
- Building constructive working relationships with finance, business, IT, shared services, local management, external advisers and tax authorities.
- Prioritising competing tax, statutory-close and business deadlines while maintaining clear issue ownership and escalation.
- Driving sustainable process improvements without weakening controls or local accountability.
Qualifications
Knowledge and Capabilities
Critical Knowledge
- Working knowledge of corporate income tax, withholding tax, VAT/GST and broader indirect tax compliance concepts. Knowledge of transfer pricing, customs or tax accounting is advantageous.
- Experience supporting tax accounting and reporting, including current tax, deferred tax concepts, tax provisions, effective tax rate analysis and balance-sheet reconciliations.
- Operational knowledge of SAP or comparable ERP systems, general ledger processes, financial close and master-data dependencies.
- Advanced Excel capability; practical experience with data extraction, Power Query, macros or comparable automation tools. Familiarity with approved digital/AI tools is advantageous.
- Ability to prepare clear workpapers, SOPs, process flowcharts, control matrices, dashboards and executive-ready presentations.
- Strong written and verbal communication, analytical judgement, attention to detail and collaboration across a multi-cultural, multi-language regional environment.
Critical Leadership Capabilities
- Owns delivery and follows through: plans work rigorously, manages deadlines and raises risks early.
- Develops self and others: shares knowledge, provides clear guidance and builds tax-compliance capability in finance teams.
- Drives continuous improvement: challenges inefficient practices and converts insight into controlled, practical change.
- Works across boundaries: builds trust and influences stakeholders without direct authority.
People Development
- Build and sustain tax-compliance capability through coaching, training materials, knowledge-sharing sessions and documented procedures.
- Support a regional culture of ownership, control discipline, timely escalation and continuous learning.
- Contribute to a resilient team model through cross-training, succession support and effective handovers across the AMEA & JANZ portfolio.
Experience Required
- 5-10 years of relevant tax, finance or statutory compliance experience, preferably within a multinational, regional shared-service or advisory environment.
- Demonstrable experience in operational corporate tax and/or indirect tax compliance, tax accounting support, reconciliations and statutory reporting.
- Experience working with multiple jurisdictions and coordinating with internal stakeholders and external tax advisers.
- Strong understanding of end-to-end finance processes, internal controls and the link between transactional data, general ledger and tax reporting.
- Proven ability to manage a structured compliance calendar, resolve data and process issues, and communicate effectively with senior regional stakeholders.
Minimum Education and Professional Qualifications
- Chartered Accountant (CA) preferred. Degree in Commerce, Finance, Accounting or Finance MBA.
- Professional tax qualification or postgraduate diploma in direct tax, indirect tax, international tax or statutory compliance is preferred.
Additional Information
Note: Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.
To learn more visit: www.syngenta.com
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Company Description
At Syngenta Crop Protection, we're pioneering solutions that safeguard global food security while championing sustainable agriculture. As a world market leader headquartered in Switzerland, we empower farmers with innovative crop protection technologies that defend against nature's toughest challenges. We unite advanced science with digital solutions to develop intelligent crop protection that maximizes yields while minimizing environmental impact. Join our mission of revolutionizing plant protection from seed to harvest.
