Branch of a UAE-based or foreign companyUAE · RAKEZ
What it takes to form, own and run an other legal form in UAE · RAKEZ, 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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registered in a Free Zone, including a branch of a Non-Resident Person registered in
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
- A notary
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- A resident director
- Does not apply
- Paying up the capital
- None: a branch has no share capital to pay up; RAKEZ states a branch requires no capital.
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Is there a capital requirement for a branch? No, a branch does not require a capital.
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 UAE-based or 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 UAE-based or foreign company.
Important dates
When each obligation falls due, as the authority states it.
- Renew the RAKEZ licence
- Each year, on the anniversary of incorporation
With RAKEZ
Anchor is the licence issue date, approximated by registration of the branch.
What is public
Not in our records What the register shows the public is not in our records for the Branch of a UAE-based or 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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registered in a Free Zone, including a branch of a Non-Resident Person registered in
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.
- Route
- Strike-off from the register by the Registrar or the Authority under Part 21 of the Companies Regulations (Regs 136-138): where the licence is revoked, the branch is not carrying on business, it fails to pay fees or penalties within thirty days of notice, its licence is not renewed within six months of expiry, or it breaches activity restrictions or the Zone's good repute requires it. No voluntary closure route for a branch is stated in the Regulations or the FAQ.
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The Registrar may strike off a Company or Branch from the register if the license of the Company or Branch is revoked by the Registrar.
- Statutory fee
- Not in our records
Every business in UAE · RAKEZ
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 UAE-based or foreign company
- Identifier
- AE-RAKEZ-BRANCHA form ISO 20275 does not list.