Company Formation in the UAE

Roadmap

How long does it take to register a Company in UAE?

It would be not fair to set your expectations in a way to assume for the incorporation to be finished within a day. In some jurisdictions it is extraordinary fast (for example in Estonia) in some slower. It all boils down to one thing: 'When are the necessary (basic) documents ready?' The process is counted from the moment on we have all the needed documents. Please consult with our consultants to understand what documents you need to kick-start the process.

• 5-15 days for mainland company
• This includes obtaining the necessary license and other approvals if chosen business activity requires

What are the steps to register a company in United Arab Emirates?

The registration process of a company in Company Formation in Japan with LegalBison is very simple: Contact us for more details

Taxes

How high are the corporate income tax in UAE?

UAE doesn’t impose federal corporate income tax, hence, it may vary from one emirate to another.

• Although all companies may be required pay CIT, in practice, only companies engage in oil-related business activities and foreign banks branches are charged for CIT
• Those engaged in oil-related businesses is taxed up to 55% while branches of foreign banks are taxed at 20%

What Double-tax treaties has UAE?

To help its investors avoid payment of tax twice, UAE also entered into various Double Taxation Agreements with the following: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Comoro Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal Serbia Seychelles Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Switzerland Syria Tajikistan Thailand Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Ukraine United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Yemen

VAT number

Without VAT number

• Non-VAT registered companies can’t charge VAT in their goods and/or services and consequently can’t also claim for input VAT back

With VAT number

• A 5% VAT has been recently imposed on most goods and services
• For companies, registration is mandatory if their taxable goods and services exceeds the threshold of AED 375,000 although companies may also register voluntarily when the optional threshold of AED 187,500 is exceeded
• Filing of tax returns depend on the company’s business operations cost. These operating more than AED 150 million must file their returns monthly while those operating below should file theirs quarterly

Decide first

1. Do you want to register your own company?
2. Цhat structure do you intend to register?
3. Do you already have an Emirati partner?

Documents to provide for company registration in UAE

• Passport copies (a scan) of all individuals above, also beneficiary owner if applicable
• A Power of Attorney (POA) from (all) partners/shareholders is needed (in case of a remote company registration)
• Certified company documents (in case at least one of the shareholders is going to be a foreign company)

Information needed to get company registration in UAE

• 3 options of your desired name for the company and a company contact email address
• Names, addresses and emails of all shareholders and board members
• Short description of your companies’ activity

Remote incorporation

• For the foreign partner, remote incorporation is possible but with the necessary Power of Attorney certified by the Secretary of State

Accounting and auditing

• Financial statements must be prepared annually
• Accounting records including annual accounts, general ledgers, purchase day books, tax invoices, credit notes, debit notes, and VAT ledgers and company books must be kept in the UAE office

Residential requirements

What are the residential requirements in UAE?

• For mainland LLC or Commercial License company, since the ownership is majority by Emirati nationals, then their UAE addresses are required
• For 100% foreign owned companies must have a local service agent who is in UAE

LegalBison offers help with all of the above requirements. We assist and are local on ground. Speak now for free with one of our consultants to get your business started.