General Partnership (Joint Liability Company)UAE mainland
What it takes to form, own and run a general partnership in UAE mainland, and how its profit is taxed. Each figure links to the page it was read from.
This company type
At a glance
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A Joint Liability Company is a Company which consists of two or more physical partners, to be severally and jointly liable in all their personal assets for the company’s obligations.
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A Joint Liability Company is a Company which consists of two or more physical partners
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
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Examples of juridical persons that are incorporated or otherwise established or recognised in the UAE include Joint Liability Companies, Limited Partnership Companies, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), Public Joint Stock Companies
Form it
Who registers it
- Registry
- Formed without visiting
- Yes
- Formed online
- Yes
What it takes to form
- A notary
- Not required
- A resident director
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Paying up the capital
- Not in our records
Own it
Who may own and run it
- Directors
- Does not apply
- Shareholders
- At least 2 · individuals only
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A Joint Liability Company is a Company which consists of two or more physical partners
- Members
- At least 2
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A Joint Liability Company is a Company which consists of two or more physical partners, to be severally and jointly liable in all their personal assets for the company’s obligations.
- A local company secretary
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- A local registered agent
- Not required
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Every Company shall have an address registered with the State and to which notices and correspondences shall be dispatched.
Each year, at the registry
- Annual registry fee
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Accounts on the public record
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Audit for a small company
- Not required
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The remaining forms of companies may appoint an auditor in accordance with the provisions of this Decree-Law.
- Audit
- No statutory audit: the remaining forms 'may appoint an auditor' (Art. 27(1))
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The remaining forms of companies may appoint an auditor in accordance with the provisions of this Decree-Law.
Important dates
When each obligation falls due, as the authority states it.
- Copy of the commercial licence and Memorandum of Association provided to the Registrar for
- 5 days after incorporation
With Registrar (Ministry of Economy and Tourism)
Art. 43(7), the Joint Liability Company's own incorporation article.
What is public
- Beneficial owners
- To the authorities only
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The Ministry and the Registrar are prohibited from disclosing the data of the Beneficial Owner Record or the register of partners or shareholders and making them available to any person
Tax
Tax on profit
How this company type is taxed, which can differ from its place’s headline rate.
Varies · 0–9%+1 regime
Corporate Tax: the FTA guide lists Joint Liability Companies among juridical persons; 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above. The same guide's partnership chapter calls 'general partnerships' Unincorporated Partnerships (taxed through the partners); it does not name the UAE Joint Liability Company there.
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Examples of juridical persons that are incorporated or otherwise established or recognised in the UAE include Joint Liability Companies, Limited Partnership Companies, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), Public Joint Stock Companies
Work it out on a profit figure: the company’s tax, the owner’s, and what is left.
Special regimes that may apply
- Qualifying Free Zone Person free zone · 0%
A qualifying free zone person Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses, art. 18
Whether a company qualifies depends on its activity and conditions set in each statute.
- CFC rules in United Arab Emirates
- Not in our records
Close it
Closing it
The other end, which most guides leave out.
Not in our records Route, Statutory fee: none of these is in our records for the General Partnership (Joint Liability Company).
Every business in UAE mainland
VAT
- Standard rate
- 5%
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VAT 5% (AED)
- Other rates
- Not stated
- Registration threshold
- AED 375,000 · about €89,335
total value of taxable supplies and imports; previous 12 months, or expected within the next 30 days
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Businesses resident in the UAE: Registration for VAT is mandatory if: - The total value of taxable supplies and imports exceeds AED 375,000 over the past 12 months, or is expected to exceed that threshold within the next 30 days.
- Voluntary registration
- Yes
A resident business below the mandatory threshold may register voluntarily once its taxable supplies, imports or taxable expenses exceed AED 187,500 in the past 12 months or are expected to within 30 days.
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Businesses resident in the UAE that make taxable supplies may register voluntarily for VAT if: - The total value of taxable supplies, imports, or taxable expenses in the past 12 months, or expected in the next 30 days, exceeds AED 187,500 (the voluntary registration threshold).
- A foreign company
- Registers from its first taxable supply; no local representative required
A non-resident business must register for VAT if it makes taxable supplies in the UAE, even where the value of those supplies does not exceed the AED 375,000 threshold, unless another party in the UAE is responsible for settling the VAT on those supplies. Registration is made directly through an EmaraTax account; no representative is required.
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Non-resident businesses: VAT registration is mandatory if: - The business makes taxable supplies in the UAE, even if the value of supplies does not exceed the threshold, unless there is another party in the UAE responsible for settling the VAT on those supplies.
- Returns filed
- Depends on the business
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Once you have registered for VAT in the UAE, you are required to file your VAT return and make related VAT payments within 28 days from the end of your tax period.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Portals and registers
- Business registerMinistry of Finance – Agreements Avoiding Double Taxation
- Tax authorityFederal Tax Authority (FTA)
- Tax treatiesCustoms and Port Security (ICP)
Payment and banking services
2 services name United Arab Emirates on their own list: Paysera, Stripe. Each provider, and what a listing means.
Reference
Its name and code
- Kind
- General partnershipDerived our grouping, the same words in every country
- Name in law
- General Partnership (Joint Liability Company)
- ISO 20275 code
- RLB2Secondary GLEIF, Entity Legal Forms code list