UAE Tax Procedureschapter by chapter

Article 4 (Decree-Law); Articles 2-4 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Record-keeping requirement. Article 4 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Articles 2-4 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires every Person conducting Business or having Tax obligations in the UAE to create and retain accounting records and commercial books — balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, wage and salary records, fixed asset records, and inventory and stock-count records — together with supporting documents such as correspondence, invoices, licences, contracts, and records of any Tax election, assessment, determination or calculation. Records may be kept as originals or as identical, reproducible photocopy or electronic copies, retrievable within the period the Federal Tax Authority specifies, and apply to Taxable and non-Taxable Persons and Registrants alike.

Article 5 (Decree-Law); Article 5 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Arabic translation requirement. Article 5 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 5 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, entitles the Federal Tax Authority to require a Person who has submitted data, information, records or documents in English to provide some or all of them translated into Arabic. The translation must be prepared by a translator approved in accordance with UAE translation-regulation legislation, and submitted within the period the Authority specifies in its request. The obligation applies to any Person with Tax obligations, including non-Taxable Persons and Registrants, and arises only on the Authority's request rather than as a standing filing requirement.

Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1, items 1-2

Record-keeping and translation Administrative Penalties. Items 1 and 2 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 set the Administrative Penalties for two violations under the Tax Procedures regime: failure to keep the required records and information carries a penalty of AED 10,000 for a first violation, rising to AED 20,000 for a repeat violation within 24 months; and failure to submit Arabic-translated tax data, records or documents when requested by the Federal Tax Authority under Article 5 carries a fixed penalty of AED 5,000. Both penalties attach to any Person with Tax obligations, including non-Taxable Persons and Registrants, and are additional to the underlying Article 4/5 obligations.

Article 6 (Decree-Law); Article 6(1)-(3) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Registration. Article 6 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 6(1)-(3) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Person who is or becomes obligated to register under a Tax Law to submit a Tax Registration application to the Federal Tax Authority in the approved form and manner, together with any supporting documents the Authority specifies. Registration is a general, tax-law-agnostic procedural mechanism under the Tax Procedures Law — the specific deadline by which registration must occur is fixed by the relevant Tax Law itself (Corporate Tax, VAT, or Excise Tax) rather than by this Article. Registration is finalised by the Authority issuing, or reactivating, a Tax Registration Number.

Article 6(4) (Decree-Law); Article 6(4) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 5

Amendment of registration data. Article 6(4) of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 6(4) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Registrant to notify the Federal Tax Authority within 20 business days of any change to registration data it holds, including name, address, email address, trade licence activities, legal entity type, partnership agreement or articles of association, nature of Business, and the address from which Business is conducted. Item 5 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 sets the Administrative Penalty for failing to notify at AED 1,000 per violation, rising to AED 5,000 for a repeat violation within 24 months.

Article 6(5)-(8) (Decree-Law); Article 6(5)-(8) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 4

Tax Deregistration. Article 6(5)-(8) of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 6(5)-(8) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Registrant to submit a Tax deregistration application to the Federal Tax Authority in the approved form, with supporting documents, within the timeframe set by the relevant Tax Law; deregistration is finalised by suspension of the Tax Registration Number. Item 4 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 penalises late submission at AED 1,000, repeated monthly up to a maximum of AED 10,000, reflecting the same general procedural mechanism as Article 6 registration, with the specific deadline again fixed by the underlying Tax Law.

Article 3(3) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Post-representation record retention. Article 3(3) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023 requires a Legal Representative to retain the books and records of the Person it represented for one additional year measured from the date the legal representation itself expires, over and above the general record-keeping periods that applied to the represented Person under Article 4 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022. This extends the chain of record custody beyond the end of the representation relationship, ensuring the Federal Tax Authority retains access to the represented Person's records for a defined period after the Legal Representative's formal role has ended.

Article 7 (Decree-Law); Article 8 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 6

Legal Representative appointment notification. Article 7 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 8 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Person appointed as Legal Representative of a Taxable Person — for example a guardian, trustee, liquidator, or bankruptcy trustee — to notify the Federal Tax Authority of the appointment, including the represented Taxable Person's details, the duration of appointment if fixed-term, and the Legal Representative's responsibilities. Item 6 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 sets an AED 1,000 Administrative Penalty for failing to notify within the specified timeframe, payable from the Legal Representative's own funds rather than the represented Person's assets.

Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 7

Legal Representative Tax Return filing penalty. Item 7 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 imposes an Administrative Penalty on a Legal Representative who fails to file the represented Taxable Person's Tax Return within the specified timeframe: AED 1,000 for a first violation, rising to AED 2,000 for a repeat violation within 24 months. As with the Article 7 appointment-notification penalty, this amount is payable from the Legal Representative's own funds, reflecting the personal accountability the Tax Procedures regime places on a Legal Representative for discharging the Tax compliance obligations of the Person or estate it represents.

Article 8 (Decree-Law); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 8

Tax Return filing requirement. Article 8 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 establishes the general obligation for a Taxable Person to prepare and submit a Tax Return to the Federal Tax Authority within the timeframe specified in the relevant Tax Law — the Tax Procedures Law sets the procedural mechanism, while Corporate Tax, VAT and Excise Tax legislation each fix their own specific filing deadline. Item 8 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 penalises late filing at AED 1,000 for a first violation, rising to AED 2,000 for a repeat violation within 24 months.

Article 9 (Decree-Law); Article 9 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 9

Payable Tax settlement. Article 9 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 9 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Taxable Person to determine and settle its Payable Tax with the Federal Tax Authority within the timeframe specified in the relevant Tax Law — generally aligned to the Tax Return due date, or 20 business days from submission for a Voluntary Disclosure, or from receipt for a Tax Assessment. Item 9 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 sets the late-payment penalty at 14% per annum, applied monthly on the unsettled amount, for each month or part of a month from the day after the due date.

Article 9 (Decree-Law); Article 9 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 9-2

Payable Tax settlement. Article 9 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 9 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Taxable Person to determine and settle its Payable Tax with the Federal Tax Authority within the timeframe specified in the relevant Tax Law — generally aligned to the Tax Return due date, or 20 business days from submission for a Voluntary Disclosure, or from receipt for a Tax Assessment. Item 9 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 sets the late-payment penalty at 14% per annum, applied monthly on the unsettled amount, for each month or part of a month from the day after the due date.

Article 9 (Decree-Law); Article 9 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 9-3

Payable Tax settlement. Article 9 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 9 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Taxable Person to determine and settle its Payable Tax with the Federal Tax Authority within the timeframe specified in the relevant Tax Law — generally aligned to the Tax Return due date, or 20 business days from submission for a Voluntary Disclosure, or from receipt for a Tax Assessment. Item 9 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 sets the late-payment penalty at 14% per annum, applied monthly on the unsettled amount, for each month or part of a month from the day after the due date.

Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 10

Incorrect Tax Return penalty. Item 10 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 imposes a fixed AED 500 Administrative Penalty on a Taxable Person who submits an incorrect Tax Return. The penalty does not apply where the error is corrected before the original filing deadline for that Tax Return has passed, or where it is instead corrected through a Voluntary Disclosure under Article 10 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 that does not change the amount of Due Tax — distinguishing a purely corrective, no-tax-impact disclosure from a Voluntary Disclosure that increases or decreases the Due Tax amount, which carries its own separate penalty regime.

Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 items 14-15

On-behalf-of and import Tax calculation penalties. Items 14 and 15 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 penalise a Person who fails to correctly calculate Tax it is obliged to calculate on behalf of another Person under the relevant Tax Law — such as under a reverse-charge mechanism — with the same 14% per annum monthly penalty on unsettled Payable Tax that applies to late payment generally; and penalise a Person who fails to correctly calculate Tax due on the import of goods with a distinct 50% penalty on the unpaid or undeclared Tax, reflecting the heightened compliance expectation placed on import-related Tax calculations.

Article 9 (Decree-Law); Article 9 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 9-p2

A taxpayer must settle tax with the Authority within 20 business days of a voluntary disclosure submission or assessment receipt, or face 14% per annum penalty on unsettled tax.

Article 9 (Decree-Law); Article 9 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 9-p3

Tax assessments must be settled within 20 business days, with penalties of 14% per annum for late payment.

Article 10 (Decree-Law); Article 10(1) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Voluntary Disclosure for Tax Return and Tax Assessment errors. Article 10 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 10(1) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Person who becomes aware that a submitted Tax Return, or an Authority-issued Tax Assessment, understates Payable Tax to submit a Voluntary Disclosure within 20 business days of becoming aware of the error, where the error exceeds AED 10,000. Where the error is AED 10,000 or less, the Person must instead correct it in an outstanding or current-period Tax Return where that is possible, and may only submit a Voluntary Disclosure — again within 20 business days — where an in-return correction is not possible.

Article 10 (Decree-Law); Article 10(1) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-2

Voluntary Disclosure for Tax Return and Tax Assessment errors. Article 10 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 10(1) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Person who becomes aware that a submitted Tax Return, or an Authority-issued Tax Assessment, understates Payable Tax to submit a Voluntary Disclosure within 20 business days of becoming aware of the error, where the error exceeds AED 10,000. Where the error is AED 10,000 or less, the Person must instead correct it in an outstanding or current-period Tax Return where that is possible, and may only submit a Voluntary Disclosure — again within 20 business days — where an in-return correction is not possible.

Article 10 (Decree-Law); Article 10(1) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-3

Voluntary Disclosure for Tax Return and Tax Assessment errors. Article 10 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 10(1) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, requires a Person who becomes aware that a submitted Tax Return, or an Authority-issued Tax Assessment, understates Payable Tax to submit a Voluntary Disclosure within 20 business days of becoming aware of the error, where the error exceeds AED 10,000. Where the error is AED 10,000 or less, the Person must instead correct it in an outstanding or current-period Tax Return where that is possible, and may only submit a Voluntary Disclosure — again within 20 business days — where an in-return correction is not possible.

Article 10 (Decree-Law); Article 10(2) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Voluntary Disclosure for Tax Refund errors. Article 10 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 10(2) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, extends the Voluntary Disclosure mechanism to a Person who becomes aware that a submitted Tax Refund application overstates its refund entitlement, requiring disclosure within 20 business days of becoming aware of the error. Where the overstatement stems from an underlying error in the Tax Return or Tax Assessment on which the refund claim was based, the same AED 10,000 materiality threshold and in-return-correction-first approach applicable to Tax Return errors under Article 10(1) applies by analogy.

Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 items 11-12

Voluntary Disclosure penalties. Items 11 and 12 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 set the penalty consequences of the Article 10 Voluntary Disclosure mechanism: a monthly penalty of 1% of the Tax Difference, running from the original due date until the Voluntary Disclosure is submitted; and, where a Person does not submit a Voluntary Disclosure before the Federal Tax Authority notifies it of an impending Tax Audit, an additional fixed penalty of 15% of the Tax Difference on top of the monthly 1% penalty, the latter calculated to the Voluntary Disclosure submission date or, if none is made, to the date of the resulting Tax Assessment.

Article 10 (Decree-Law); Article 10(1) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-p2

Taxpayers who discover an understatement of payable tax must make a voluntary disclosure within 20 business days if the error exceeds AED 10,000, or correct it in a return where the error is AED 10,000 or less.

Article 10 (Decree-Law); Article 10(1) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-p3

Submit a Voluntary Disclosure within 20 business days for Tax Return errors exceeding AED 10,000; otherwise, correct the error or disclose within the same timeframe.

Article 11 (Decree-Law); Article 11 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Notification methods and contact-detail currency. Article 11 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 11 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, provides that the Federal Tax Authority may validly notify a Person — or its Tax Agent or Legal Representative — of any matter by post, registered post, email, SMS, smart application, the Authority's electronic system, or by posting the notification at the Person's Premises. Because any of these channels constitutes valid notice regardless of whether the Person actually reads it, the Article implicitly requires every Person with Tax obligations, including non-Taxable Persons and Registrants, to keep its registered address, email and other contact details current with the Authority at all times.

Article 13 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Agent Register renewal. Article 13 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023 requires a listed Tax Agent to apply to renew its listing no later than 20 business days before the listing period expires — three years for a natural person, one year for a juridical person — and to pay the required renewal fees, in order to remain on the Federal Tax Authority's Tax Agent Register. A Tax Agent who ceases to practise must separately notify the Authority of that cessation, so that the register accurately reflects only Tax Agents who are both currently eligible and actively practising.

Article 14 (Decree-Law); Article 14 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Agent conduct obligations. Article 14 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 14 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, sets the standards a listed Tax Agent must meet in performing its duties: assisting the represented Person with its Tax obligations in accordance with the engagement agreement; maintaining the confidentiality of information obtained, subject to any legal disclosure obligation; satisfying Continuing Professional Development requirements; refusing to participate in any work or arrangement that would breach the law or adversely affect the integrity of the Tax system; and keeping information, documents, records and data in respect of each Person it represents.

Articles 12-13 (Decree-Law); Article 12 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Agent listing eligibility. Articles 12-13 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 12 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, set the conditions for a natural or juridical person to be listed as a Tax Agent on the Federal Tax Authority's register. A natural person must show good conduct, no disqualifying criminal convictions, minimum education and experience, completion of training and examination, language ability, professional indemnity insurance, and licensing or employment with a licensed entity. A juridical person must hold an audit, tax or law-firm licence, carry professional indemnity insurance, and have at least one qualifying supervising director or partner, plus any further conditions the Authority sets.

Article 18 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023); Cabinet Decision 40/2017 Table 1 item 13

Non-obstruction of the Tax Auditor and seizure rights. Article 18 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023 prohibits obstructing a Tax Auditor in copying, marking, seizing or recording documents and Assets during a Tax Audit, with item 13 of Table 1 to Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 setting an AED 20,000 Administrative Penalty for obstruction, payable from the obstructing Person's, its Legal Representative's, or its Tax Agent's own funds. In exchange, the Person is entitled to receive a seizure record within 10 business days, or such other period as the Authority specifies, and to request access to or recovery of the seized documents or Assets under the conditions the Cabinet Decision sets.

Article 19 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Audit results notification and access request. Article 19 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023 requires the Federal Tax Authority to notify a Person of its Tax Audit results within 10 business days of the audit ending. Where the Person wishes to access the documents, data and information underlying the Authority's assessment of Due Tax, it must submit an access request in the prescribed form within 20 business days of receiving the results Notification. This gives the audited Person a defined, time-limited window to obtain the evidentiary basis for the Authority's findings before deciding whether to accept, settle, or dispute the resulting assessment.

Article 19 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-2

Tax Audit results notification and access request. Article 19 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023 requires the Federal Tax Authority to notify a Person of its Tax Audit results within 10 business days of the audit ending. Where the Person wishes to access the documents, data and information underlying the Authority's assessment of Due Tax, it must submit an access request in the prescribed form within 20 business days of receiving the results Notification. This gives the audited Person a defined, time-limited window to obtain the evidentiary basis for the Authority's findings before deciding whether to accept, settle, or dispute the resulting assessment.

Articles 16-17 (Decree-Law); Articles 16-17 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Audit notification and facilitation. Articles 16-17 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Articles 16-17 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, entitle a Person to at least 10 business days' advance Notification before a Tax Audit begins (or, where the Notification is given via an occupying tenant or person in charge at the Premises, notification of the audit's commencement), and correspondingly require the Person to give the Federal Tax Authority and its Tax Auditor all facilitation necessary to inspect Premises, documents, Assets, electronically stored data and records, and accounting systems, and to respond to information requests within the specified period, form and location.

Article 19 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-p2

After receiving tax audit results within 10 business days of the audit ending, a taxpayer seeking access to underlying documents and data must submit a prescribed access request within 20 business days of notification.

Article 24 (Decree-Law); Article 21 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Administrative Penalties Assessments. Article 24 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 21 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, sets the required content of an Administrative Penalties Assessment: the Person's name and address, Tax Registration Number, a description of the violation, the penalty amount and any related Tax amount, and the total penalties due. As with a Tax Assessment, the assessed amount becomes a debt payable to the Federal Tax Authority from the date of Notification, and must be settled or challenged within the applicable procedural timelines under the dispute-resolution provisions of the Decree-Law.

Articles 23-24 (Decree-Law); Article 20 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Assessments. Articles 23-24 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 20 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, require a Tax Assessment issued by the Federal Tax Authority to contain the Person's name and address, Tax Registration Number, an assessment reference, the Tax type, a Tax summary, the reasons for the assessment, the net Tax due or refundable, and the payment date and method. From the date of Notification, the assessed amount is treated as a debt payable by the Person to the Authority, which the Person must settle or challenge through the applicable dispute-resolution procedural timelines rather than simply disregard.

Article 25-27 (Decree-Law)

Tax Evasion and Tax Crimes. Articles 25-27 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 define Tax Evasion and other Tax Crimes — including the deliberate failure to settle Administrative Penalties due — as criminal offences distinct from, and additional to, the civil Payable Tax and Administrative Penalties a Person may owe. A finding of Tax Evasion or another Tax Crime under these Articles exposes the responsible Person to criminal penalties under UAE criminal law, on top of any Tax and Administrative Penalty liability already assessed, reflecting the more serious, intent-based character of these violations compared with the ordinary procedural and filing violations penalised under Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017.

Articles 23-24 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Reconciliation in Tax Crime matters. Articles 23-24 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023 allow a Person facing a Tax Evasion or other Tax Crime matter to seek reconciliation — either by application to the Federal Tax Authority before a criminal case is referred, or to the competent public prosecution at any stage of a criminal case — by submitting a prescribed-form application and undertaking to settle the full amounts due. Reconciliation may be granted on a deferred or instalment basis for a maximum of two years, subject to the Person providing sufficient guarantees, offering a route to resolve Tax Crime exposure without pursuing the matter to a full criminal conviction.

Article 25(3)-(5) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Deadline extension for exceptional circumstances. Article 25(3)-(5) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023 allows a Person who is prevented from meeting a review, reconsideration or Committee-objection deadline by reasons beyond its control — a sudden accident, emergency circumstances, or force majeure — to apply for an extension of the relevant filing deadline, supported by justification and evidence of the qualifying reason. This safety-valve provision applies across all three tiers of the Article 28-37 dispute-resolution process (Tax Assessment Review Request, Reconsideration Request, and Tax Disputes Resolution Committee objection), rather than being confined to any single stage.

Article 28 (Decree-Law); Article 25(1),(3) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Assessment Review Request. Article 28 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 25(1) and (3) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, gives a Taxable Person the right to submit a Tax Assessment Review Request to the Federal Tax Authority within 40 business days of being notified of the relevant Tax Assessment, seeking the Authority's own review of the assessment before escalating the dispute further. The Authority may, on request and in appropriate cases, grant an extension of the 40-business-day filing window, providing a first-tier, lower-cost internal review stage ahead of the formal Reconsideration Request and Tax Disputes Resolution Committee stages.

Article 29 (Decree-Law); Article 25(1),(3) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Reconsideration Request. Article 29 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 25(1) and (3) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, allows a Taxable Person to submit a Reconsideration Request to the Federal Tax Authority within 40 business days of being notified of the Authority decision it wishes to challenge — including, but not limited to, a Tax Assessment Review Request outcome. As with the review request, the Authority may grant an extension of the 40-business-day window on request in appropriate cases, and a Reconsideration Request is generally a precondition before a Person may escalate the dispute to the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee.

Articles 30-37 (Decree-Law); Article 25(2),(4) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax Disputes Resolution Committee and court appeal. Articles 30-37 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 25(2) and (4) of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, allow a Person whose Reconsideration Request is unsuccessful to object to the independent Tax Disputes Resolution Committee within the applicable timeline, with extensions available for force majeure or similar cause. For disputes where the disputed amount exceeds the AED 100,000 finality threshold, a Person wishing to appeal the Committee's decision to the Competent Court must first pay 50% of the disputed Administrative Penalties as a precondition to filing that appeal, a safeguard intended to discourage low-merit escalation of high-value penalty disputes.

Articles 38-39 (Decree-Law); Article 26 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Tax and credit-balance refund applications. Articles 38-39 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 26 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, allow a Person to apply to the Federal Tax Authority for a refund of Tax or an available credit balance, in the approved form and manner, within five years from the end of the relevant Tax Period — extended transitionally to 2027 by Federal Decree-Law No. 17/2025, with further extended windows available under Article 38(3)-(4) in specified circumstances. The Authority may defer payment of an otherwise-approved refund until all of the Person's outstanding Tax Returns have been submitted.

Article 40 (Decree-Law)

Collection following a settlement notice. Article 40 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 empowers the Federal Tax Authority to issue a settlement notice to a Person with outstanding Payable Tax or Administrative Penalties, requiring the Person to settle the amount within a 20-business-day notice period, or to pursue an available instalment, deferral, or dispute mechanism instead of immediate payment. This Article provides the general collection mechanism that follows once a Tax or penalty liability has become final and undisputed (or the dispute process has concluded), rather than governing the initial assessment or dispute of the underlying liability itself.

Article 41 (Decree-Law)

Unincorporated Partnership dissolution settlement. Article 41 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 sets special rules for settling the outstanding Tax obligations of an Unincorporated Partnership on its dissolution, requiring the partners to settle the Partnership's Tax position among themselves in accordance with the statutory allocation the Article prescribes, rather than leaving the liability unresolved or attributable to a single partner by default. This provision works alongside the general Unincorporated Partnership tax-transparency rules elsewhere in the Corporate Tax and Tax Procedures framework, addressing specifically what happens to unsettled Tax obligations at the point the Partnership ceases to exist.

Article 42 (Decree-Law)

Settlement on death of a natural-person Taxable Person. Article 42 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 sets special rules for settling the outstanding Tax obligations of a natural-person Taxable Person who has died, requiring the deceased's estate, heirs, or an appointed representative — typically acting as Legal Representative under Article 7 — to settle the outstanding Tax position in accordance with the statutory rules the Article prescribes. This ensures a natural person's Tax obligations survive their death and pass to the estate for settlement, rather than being extinguished, consistent with the general Legal Representative framework applied elsewhere in the Decree-Law.

Article 43 (Decree-Law); Article 27 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)

Bankruptcy trustee obligations. Article 43 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 27 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, governs the Tax position where a Business or part of a Business becomes subject to bankruptcy. The appointed trustee must notify the Federal Tax Authority of the appointment within 20 business days, after which the Authority has 20 business days to notify the trustee of Due Tax and any intended Tax Audit; the trustee must respond to that notification and settle any resulting Payable Tax in accordance with the settlement mechanism the Decree-Law and the relevant Tax Law set, effectively stepping into the bankrupt Business's Tax compliance role.

Article 43 (Decree-Law); Article 27 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-2

Bankruptcy trustee obligations. Article 43 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, with Article 27 of Cabinet Decision No. 74/2023, governs the Tax position where a Business or part of a Business becomes subject to bankruptcy. The appointed trustee must notify the Federal Tax Authority of the appointment within 20 business days, after which the Authority has 20 business days to notify the trustee of Due Tax and any intended Tax Audit; the trustee must respond to that notification and settle any resulting Payable Tax in accordance with the settlement mechanism the Decree-Law and the relevant Tax Law set, effectively stepping into the bankrupt Business's Tax compliance role.

Article 43 (Decree-Law); Article 27 (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-p2

When a business enters bankruptcy, the appointed trustee must notify the Authority within 20 business days, respond to due tax and tax audit notices, and settle payable tax under the settlement mechanism.

Article 46 (Decree-Law)

Statute of limitation on Tax Audits and Assessments. Article 46 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 limits the Federal Tax Authority's general power to conduct a Tax Audit or issue a Tax Assessment to five years from the end of the relevant Tax Period. That limitation period extends to fifteen years in cases involving Tax Evasion, or where a Person has failed to register for Tax at all, reflecting the more serious character of those violations and the Authority's correspondingly longer window to detect and act on them. The Article effectively sets the outer bound on how long a Person's records and Tax positions remain subject to Authority scrutiny.

Article 48 (Decree-Law)

Default timeframe for unspecified obligations. Article 48 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 provides that where the Decree-Law, a Tax Law, or an Authority Notification does not itself specify a timeframe for a Person to fulfil an obligation owed to the Federal Tax Authority, the Person must comply within the default period the Authority sets in that Notification — falling somewhere between 5 and 40 business days. This is a residual, catch-all timing rule that fills gaps left by the more specific deadlines fixed elsewhere in the Decree-Law and its Cabinet and Ministerial Decisions for named obligations such as registration, filing, or Voluntary Disclosure.

Article 53 (Decree-Law); Cabinet Decision 85/2022

Tax Residency. Article 53 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022, applying the criteria in Cabinet Decision No. 85/2022, governs how UAE Tax Residency is established and evidenced through a Tax Residency Certificate. A natural person satisfies Tax Residency under a 183-day physical-presence test, or a 90-day test combined with UAE nexus such as a Permanent Place of Residence, employment, or Business in the State. A juridical person is UAE tax resident where incorporated, established or registered in the UAE, subject to specified exclusions, or under other criteria the Cabinet prescribes. The Federal Tax Authority issues the certificate on application with supporting evidence.

Article 54 (Decree-Law)

Authority service fees. Article 54 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 empowers the Federal Tax Authority to charge prescribed fees for services it provides on request, such as Tax Registration, Tax Agent listing, and issuance of a Tax Residency Certificate, requiring the requesting Person to pay the applicable fee by the deadline the Authority specifies. This is a general revenue and cost-recovery mechanism separate from the underlying Tax, Administrative Penalty, and record-keeping obligations set elsewhere in the Decree-Law, and applies to any Person with Tax obligations — including non-Taxable Persons and Registrants — who requests a chargeable Authority service.

Article 54 bis (Decree-Law)

Binding Clarifications and Directives. Article 54 bis of Federal Decree-Law No. 28/2022 empowers the Federal Tax Authority to issue Clarifications and Directives on the application of the Decree-Law and the relevant Tax Law, which are binding on the Persons to whom they apply once issued. A Person with Tax obligations is expected to monitor for newly issued Clarifications and Directives relevant to its own Tax position and to apply them going forward, since a binding Clarification or Directive can alter how an otherwise generally worded statutory provision applies to that Person's specific facts and circumstances.

Article 3(1)(a) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Taxable Persons must retain accounting records, commercial books and information for five years, counted from the end of the tax period they relate to.

Article 3(1)(b) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Accounting records and commercial books of persons who are not Taxable Persons must be retained for five years from the end of the calendar year in which they were created.

Article 3(3) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Books and records of a person represented by a legal representative must be retained for one year from the date the legal representation expires, under the UAE Tax Procedures Law record retention requirements.

Article 3(1)(c) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Real estate records must be retained for seven years, counted from the end of the calendar year in which the document was created.

Article 3(2)(d) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Taxable Persons submitting a Voluntary Disclosure must retain records for one additional year beyond the fifth year from the relevant Tax Period.

Article 3(2)(a) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Records under ongoing dispute with the Authority must be retained four more years or until the dispute is finally settled, whichever is later.

Article 3(2)(b) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Records subject to an ongoing tax audit must be retained for an additional four years after the applicable Article 3(1) retention period expires.

Article 3(2)(e) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Records related to pending refund applications must be retained for an additional two years after the standard retention period.

Article 3(2)(c) (Cabinet Decision 74/2023)-ret

Records relating to a tax audit notified before the standard retention period expires must be kept for an additional four years.