Skip to content 
Table of contents:
VAT Registration in UAE - Documents RequiredVAT Registration for Freezone CompaniesDesignated ZoneOffshore CompaniesSCOPE OF OUR SERVICESVAT Registration in UAE – Documents Required
VAT registration in UAE is done through the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) website. Once you register for VAT in the UAE you will get the tax registration number (TRN) for filing the tax returns and claim refunds if any.
Companies that meet the minimum annual turnover are required to register for VAT in UAE.
The business records have to be maintained all the time for the government authorities to check the tax liability. Also, for a reclaim of VAT paid on business-related goods or services.
The following documents have to be submitted in the portal while registering for VAT.
Trade License
- Certificate of incorporation or registration certificate
- Article of association/ partnership agreement or any other document showing ownership information about the business
- Copy of Passport and Emirates ID of the manager
- Profile of the manager
- Physical office location of the business
- Contact details
- Bank account details
- List of other business directories/partners in the UAE in the last five years along with trade license copies
Declaration about:
- Business Activities of the applicant
- Actual or estimated financial transaction values
- Turnover in the last 12 months with supporting documents
- Details about expected turnover in the next 30 days
- Details about expected exempt supplies
- Details about Imports and exports
- GCC activities of the business
- Details about customs registration
Applying for VAT Registration is a slightly complex and lengthy process. You must be ready with all your personal and business identification documents and the respective scanned copies before you begin the registration process.
VAT Registration for Freezone Companies
Freezones have been excluded from the territorial scope of the UAE. However, for VAT purpose that is not the case.
Only those Free Zones listed in a Cabinet Decision quality for special VAT treatment and that special VAT treatment has certain limitations. These nominated Free Zones are known as Designated Zones of VAT Purpose.
The effect for businesses operating in Designated Zones will be that many supplies of goods will be outside the scope of UAE VAT, subject to strict criteria and detailed record keeping. Supplies of services are subject to normal UAE VAT rules.
Designated Zone
There are several main criteria which must be met in order for a Designated Zone to be treated as outside the UAE for VAT purpose.
- The Designated Zone must be a specific fenced geographic area.
- The designate zone must have security measures and Customs controls in place to monitor the entry and exit of individuals and the movement of goods to and from the designated zones.
- The Designated zone must have internal procedures regarding the method of keeping, storing and processing of goods within the free zone.
- The operator of the Designated Zone must comply with procedures set out by the FTA.
Offshore Companies
There is a confusion whether the International Business Companies (IBC) popularly known as Offshore Companies in UAE are within the purview of VAT law in the UAE.
“Offshore companies “, as the name indicates, are legally considered to be outside the country. Offshore companies are non-resident companies, with no eligibility to do any business within the country of incorporation.
They are not allowed to establish their own office, but their legal Office will be the office of Registered Agent through which the company is incorporated. Offshore companies cannot be registered with Chamber of Commerce and they cannot obtain Import Export Code.
Being a Non- resident company and not doing business within UAE, an Offshore company will not come under the purview of VAT in UAE. It’s also pertinent to note that VAT is payable on the fee charged by Registered Agent for incorporation and annual maintenance of the company.
SCOPE OF OUR SERVICES
- Review of Corporate Documents
- Assessment of Corporate Structure
- Business activity fact summary
- Online Typing of VAT Application
- English & Arabic Encoding (Arabic language is mandatory to proceed)
- Coordination with Federal Tax Authority (FTA)
- Submission or Revision of Application as per FTA
- Communication with clients with regular update
- Obtaining TRN (tax registration number) registration of the company
* Issuance of Tax Registration Certificate solely and completely depends upon the approval from FTA
** VAT Registration Deadlines are: 30th Nov 2017 deadline for businesses with turnover more than AED 10 million, and 4th Dec 2017 deadline for all other businesses entities
*** Failure to complete the registration on time will lead to a penalty of AED 2
