2.3Your first 90 days after the licence: the checklist

Corporate Tax registration

Within 3 months, for companies incorporated in the UAE, free zones included, on or after 1 March 2024

Cost

Free of charge, on the FTA's EmaraTax platform

If late

AED 10,000 penalty; a waiver may apply (see guide 4.1)

Beneficial owner data

Sent to your registrar within 60 days of licensing

VAT

Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports go over AED 375,000 in the previous 12 months, or are expected to in the next 30 days

Who this checklist is for

This checklist is for business owners who have just received a UAE trade licence for a new company, in a free zone or on the mainland. It lists what to do next and points to the guide that covers each step in detail. Getting the licence is covered in guide 2.1Coming soon and guide 2.2Coming soon.

If you trade in your own name, as a sole establishment for example, your Corporate Tax rules are different: see guide 4.1.

The checklist at a glance

The "When" column gives the legal deadline where one applies. Where it says "as soon as you can", we found no single deadline that applies to everyone: the full guide explains what depends on your licence.

1. Register for Corporate Tax

Every company that is resident in the UAE must register for Corporate Tax, free zone companies included. For a company incorporated, established or recognised in the UAE, free zones included, on or after 1 March 2024, the deadline is 3 months from that date, under Article 3 of FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024.

• You apply on EmaraTax, free of charge. The documents and the screen-by-screen steps are in the SoloBooks article Corporate Tax registration on EmaraTax.
• Registering late can cost an AED 10,000 penalty. Whether the FTA's waiver can apply to you is explained in guide 4.1.
• Whether Small Business Relief can apply to you is covered in guide 4.3.

Who registers, the deadlines for other cases, and what to do with your TRN: guide 4.1.

2. Keep your beneficial owner records

Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 applies to licensed companies across the UAE, including those in commercial free zones. Financial free zones are excluded.

• Beneficial owner record. Create it within 60 days of the company's existence and record any change within 15 days of learning about it. A beneficial owner is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company: someone who holds 25% or more of the capital or of the voting rights, directly or through a chain of ownership, or who controls it by other means, such as the right to appoint or remove most of its directors. If no one can be identified this way, the person who holds the most senior management position is treated as the beneficial owner.
• Register of partners or shareholders. Keep it up to date, and record any change within 15 days of learning about it.
• Send the data to your registrar. Within 60 days of licensing and registration, send the data of both registers to your registrar, the authority that supervises the register of trade names where your company is licensed. You must also give the registrar the name of a person living in the UAE who is authorised to share this information with it. After that, send any change to your registrar within 15 days of the change, and any extra information it asks for within 14 days of its request.

How your registrar collects this, and whether the economic substance rules still apply to you: guide 4.9Coming soon.

3. Check whether VAT applies

VAT registration depends on your figures, not on your licence. Check now, and again as your business grows.

• You must register if your taxable supplies and imports went over AED 375,000 in the previous 12 months, or you expect them to go over it in the next 30 days. Below that, you may be able to register voluntarily from AED 187,500. How to work out the figure and how to apply: guide 4.6Coming soon.

4. Bank account, visa and office

These steps depend on your bank, your licensing authority and your visa status, so this checklist does not give a deadline for them. Each one has its own guide:

• Opening a business bank account, and keeping business and personal money apart: guide 3.1Coming soon.
• Your investor visa and Emirates ID: guide 3.2Coming soon.
• Office, flexi-desk and Ejari: guide 3.3Coming soon.

5. Records from day one

Keep the records of every sale and every cost from your first transaction. You will need them for your Corporate Tax return, for VAT if you register, and, in some free zones such as IFZA, to prepare the financial statements you submit when you renew your licence (see guide 5.4).

• What the law requires you to keep, and for how long: guide 4.8Coming soon.
• A monthly routine for your records: guide 5.1Coming soon.

6. Note your dates

Write down the dates that will come back every year: your licence expiry date, your financial year end, and your Corporate Tax and VAT deadlines.

• All your renewal dates in one place: guide 5.6Coming soon.
• Renewing your licence: guide 5.4 for a free zone, guide 5.5Coming soon for the mainland.
• When your first Corporate Tax return is due: guide 4.5Coming soon.

The Falajo Tax & Compliance Calendar turns these dates into a list of deadlines: free, no sign-up, nothing stored.

Written and checked by The Falajo Team. Spotted something out of date? [email protected]

General information, not tax or legal advice. Falajo is a software company, not a tax agent. Rules change: check the date above and the official source.