Branch of a foreign companyUAE · IFZA (Dubai)
What it takes to form, own and run an other legal form in UAE · IFZA (Dubai), and how its profit is taxed. Each figure links to the page it was read from.
This company type
At a glance
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
Form it
Who registers it
- Registry
- Formed without visiting
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Formed online
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
What it takes to form
Not in our records A notary, A resident director, Paying up the capital: none of these is in our records for the Branch of a foreign company.
Own it
Who may own and run it
Not in our records Directors, Shareholders, Members, A local company secretary, A local registered agent: none of these is in our records for the Branch of a foreign company.
Each year, at the registry
Not in our records Annual registry fee, Accounts on the public record, Audit for a small company, Audit: none of these is in our records for the Branch of a foreign company.
Important dates
When each obligation falls due, as the authority states it.
- Renew the IFZA trade licence each year
- Each year, on the anniversary of incorporation
With International Free Zone Authority (IFZA)
IFZA's renewal page says a UAE trade licence is valid one year from issuance and renewed annually; the anchor is the licence issue date, approximated by incorporation. A grace period is mentioned but its length is not stated.
What is public
Not in our records What the register shows the public is not in our records for the Branch of a foreign company.
Tax
Tax on profit
How this company type is taxed, which can differ from its place’s headline rate.
Varies · 9%+1 regime
UAE Corporate Tax applies to a Free Zone Person; a Qualifying Free Zone Person pays 0% on Qualifying Income and 9% on Taxable Income that is not Qualifying Income (FTA Free Zone Persons guide, s3.3).
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A foreign juridical person
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 Branch of a foreign company.
Every business in UAE · IFZA (Dubai)
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
- Other legal formDerived our grouping, the same words in every country
- Name in law
- Branch of a foreign company
- Identifier
- AE-IFZA-BRANCHA form ISO 20275 does not list.