Free Zone Establishment FZEUAE · JAFZA
What it takes to form, own and run a private limited company in UAE · JAFZA, 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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the liabilities of the company are limited to its paid-up capital. An FZE has a legal personality distinct from that of its shareholder
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This shareholder can be an individual (person) or a non-individual (company)
Form it
Who registers it
- Registry
- Formed without visiting
- Yes
- Formed online
- Yes
What it takes to form
- A notary
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- A resident director
- Not required
- Paying up the capital
- No minimum share capital is prescribed; capital must be sufficient for the licensed activities.
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Jafza does not prescribe a minimum share capital for an FZE or FZCO, but require that a company must have a share capital that is sufficient for the activities for which it is licensed.
Own it
Who may own and run it
- Directors
- At least 1
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An FZE or FZCO must have at least 1 Director.
- Shareholders
- At least 1 · at most 1 · a company may be one
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This shareholder can be an individual (person) or a non-individual (company)
- Members
- At least 1 · at most 1 · one person may form it alone
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A Free Zone Establishment (FZE) registration allows for a single shareholder to form a company.
- A local company secretary
- Not required
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If Shareholders / Directors / Manager / Secretary are UAE Residents, then a No Objection Letter is required for the sponsor
- A local registered agent
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
Each year, at the registry
- Annual registry fee
- AED 5,000 (about €1,191)
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Every issued license at Jafza is valid for 1 year from the date of its issue. A license must be renewed each consecutive year from its issue date.
- 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
- Required
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audited by an auditor who is approved by Jafza.
- Audit
- Accounts are examined and reported on by an auditor from the Registrar's approved list every year; no small-company exemption is stated. A unanimous shareholder resolution may waive the audit for a financial year, subject to Registrar approval (Reg 49.7).
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audited by an auditor who is approved by Jafza.
Important dates
When each obligation falls due, as the authority states it.
- Renew the Jafza licence by paying through the Jafza portal, with an active lease in place
- Each year, on the anniversary of incorporation
With Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority
Licence valid 1 year from its issue date and renewed each consecutive year from that date; anchor is the licence issue date, approximated by incorporation.
What is public
Not in our records What the register shows the public is not in our records for the FZE.
Tax
Tax on profit
How this company type is taxed, which can differ from its place’s headline rate.
Varies · 9%+3 regimes
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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0% on its Qualifying Income, and
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 - Participation Exemption holding · 100% exempt
Taxable persons holding a Participating Interest — a 5% or greater ownership interest in the shares or capital of a juridical person, held or intended to be held for at least twelve uninterrupted months Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses, art. 23 - Foreign Permanent Establishment Exemption other
Resident persons with foreign permanent establishments Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses, art. 24
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.
- Route
- Voluntary winding up by Special Resolution, with an auditor appointed as liquidator, or winding up by the Registrar; on a satisfactory final liquidation report the Registrar may cancel the Licence and remove the company from the Companies Register (Regs 102-107).
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A Company may be wound up: (a) by the Registrar; or (b) voluntarily.
- Statutory fee
- Not in our records
Every business in UAE · JAFZA
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
- Private limited companyDerived our grouping, the same words in every country
- Name in law
- Free Zone Establishment (FZE)
- Identifier
- AE-JAFZA-FZEA form ISO 20275 does not list.