Don’t Miss the Deadline for Corporate Tax Registration in UAE

The UAE Federal Tax Authority (“FTA”) has issued FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024 (“FTA Decision 3 of 2024”) specifying the timeline for registration of taxable persons for corporate tax in respect of the Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses and its amendments.

In the FTA Decision 3 of 2024, the corporate tax registration timeline is provided based on the legal status of taxable persons and the issuance dates of their licenses.

A.    Timeline for Juridical Persons

1.     Resident Juridical Persons

A juridical person who is a Resident Person, incorporated or otherwise established or recognized before 1 March 2024, shall submit the Tax Registration application taking into account the deadlines given below:

Date of license issuance irrespective of year of issuance	Deadline for submitting a Tax Registration application
1 January – 31 January	31 May 2024
1 February – 28/29 February	31 May 2024
1 March – 31 March	30 June 2024
1 April – 30 April	30 June 2024
1 May – 31 May	31 July 2024
1 June – 30 June	31 August 2024
1 July – 31 July	30 September 2024
1 August – 31 August	31 October 2024
1 September – 30 September	31 October 2024
1 October – 31 October	30 November 2024
1 November – 30 November	30 November 2024
1 December – 31 December	31 December 2024
If a taxable person does not have a license as at 1 March 2024	Within (3) three months following 1 March 2024

         If a juridical person holds multiple licenses, then the license with the earliest issuance date will be taken into account when determining the applying registration deadline.

On the other hand, a juridical person, who is also a Resident Person, incorporated or otherwise established or recognized on or after 1 March 2024, shall submit a Tax Registration application taking into account the deadlines given below: 

Category of juridical persons	Deadline for submitting a Tax Registration application
A person that is incorporated or otherwise established or recognized under the applicable legislation in the State, including a Free Zone Person	(3) three months from the date of incorporation, establishment, or recognition
A person that is incorporated or otherwise established or recognized under the applicable legislation of a foreign jurisdiction that is effectively managed and controlled in the State	(3) three months from the end of the Financial Year of the person

2.     Non-Resident Juridical Persons

A juridical person, who is a Non-Resident Person before 1 March 2024, shall submit a Tax Registration application taking into account the deadlines given below: 

Category of juridical persons	Deadline for submitting a Tax Registration application
A person that has a Permanent Establishment in the State	(9) nine months from the date of existence of the Permanent Establishment
A person who has a nexus in the State	(3) three months from 1 March 2024

A juridical person, who is a Non-Resident Person on or after 1 March 2024, shall submit a Tax Registration application taking into account the deadlines given below: 

Category of juridical persons	Deadline for submitting a Tax Registration application
A person that has a Permanent Establishment in the State	(6) six months from the date of existence of the Permanent Establishment
A person who has a nexus in the State	(3) three months from the date of establishment of the nexus

 B.    Timeline for Natural Persons

A natural person conducting a Business or Business Activity in the State shall submit a Tax Registration application taking into account the deadlines given below:

Category of natural persons	Deadline for submitting a Tax Registration application
A Resident Person who is conducting a Business or Business Activity during the 2024 calendar year or subsequent years whose total Turnover derived in a calendar year exceeds the threshold specified in the relevant tax legislation	31 March of the subsequent calendar year
A Non-Resident Person who is conducting a Business or Business Activity during the 2024 calendar year or subsequent years whose total Turnover derived in a calendar year exceeds the threshold specified in the relevant tax legislation	(3) three months from the date of meeting the requirements of being subject to tax

C.    Penalty for Late Registration of Corporate Tax

In regard to late corporate tax registration, the UAE Ministry of Finance (the “MoF”) has issued Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024 (“Cabinet Decision 10 of 2024”) amending the schedule of violations and administrative penalties of Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 on the administrative penalties for violations relating to the application of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the taxation of corporations and businesses. Cabinet Decision 10 of 2024 has come into force as of 1 March 2024.

Based on Cabinet Decision 10 of 2024, in case the taxable persons apply for corporate tax registration after the designated deadlines, they will be subject to a fixed administrative penalty amount of AED 10,000.

            Therefore, in order for our clients not to be subject to any penalty risk, we highly recommend that they proceed to register for corporate tax within the month following their incorporation, establishment, or recognition under the relevant legislation in the UAE.