Overview of FTA Guide for UAE Corporate Tax Registration Timelines

The UAE corporate tax law authorizes the Federal Tax Authority (“FTA”) to set the timeline for corporate tax registration. In line with this, all taxable persons are required to submit an application within the UAE corporate tax registration timeline prescribed by the FTA.

Failing to apply for corporate tax registration in the UAE within the deadline will attract a hefty penalty of AED 10,000. Corporate tax consultants in Dubai can help your business plan and submit the application to the FTA as per the regulations.

To prevent any likely confusion, the FTA has issued a detailed clarification on the UAE corporate tax registration deadlines (CTP001). This blog is an overview of the FTA guide on corporate tax registration dates:

Key Highlights from the Corporate Tax Clarification Guide

The Guide analyses the different registration timelines and provides examples to explain how the deadlines apply to different Taxable Persons. The analysis covers how the deadlines apply to the following persons:

• A juridical person that is a Resident Person
• A juridical person that is a Non-Resident Person; or
• A natural person

Timeline for juridical persons that are Resident Persons

This category includes a free zone person and offshore companies that are incorporated as per the relevant regulations in the UAE.

a). Incorporated or otherwise established or recognized prior to 1st March 2024

A juridical person incorporated or otherwise established or recognized before March 1^st 2024 must submit the tax registration application to the FTA based on the month of their License issuance within the deadline provided in FTA Decision 3 of 2024.

Example 1: Company A was incorporated in Ajman on November 11^th 2023 and its License was issued on the same day. In this case, the company must submit a Tax Registration application for Corporate Tax by November 30^th 2024.

Example 2: Company C was incorporated in Abu Dhabi on April 1^st 2020 and received a License that was valid for two years, until March 31^st 2022. However, it holds an expired license as Company C didn’t renew or cancel the license. Company C must submit a Corporate Tax Registration application to the FTA by June 30^th 2024 even if it holds an expired license.

b). Incorporated or otherwise established or recognized on or after 1 March 2024

Juridical persons incorporated or otherwise established or recognised in the UAE on or after March 1^st 2024 need to submit a Tax Registration application within three months from the date of incorporation, establishment or recognition.

Example: Company E is a Resident Person incorporated in Sharjah on 16 June 2024. As the incorporation date is after March 1^st 2024, it must submit corporate tax registration by September 16^th 2024.

Registration timeline for non-Resident juridical persons

The corporate tax registration timeline for non-resident juridical persons depends on when they became a Non-Resident Person. We need to evaluate whether the Non-Resident Person has a Permanent Establishment (PE) in the UAE or has a nexus in the UAE to determine the deadline for corporate tax registration.

a). Non-Resident Person with PE in the UAE prior to March 01^st 2024

The UAE corporate tax registration timeline for non-resident juridical persons with PE in the UAE prior to March 01^st 2024 will be within 9 months from the date of existence of the PE.

Example: Company G was incorporated in the US on July 15^th 2008 with financial year (FY) being June 1^st to May 31^st. The company established a branch in Dubai on May 1^st 2023. It means the Company G became subject to corporate tax from June 1^st 2023.

The PE shall be deemed to have started its activity on June 1^st  2023 and the existence of the PE will, therefore, be on December 1^st 2023.

Company G is required to submit a Tax Registration application for Corporate Tax within nine months from the existence of the PE, i.e. by September 1^st 2024.

b). Non-Resident Person having PE in the UAE on or after 01 March 2024

In this case, the timeline to register for corporate tax in the UAE will be six months from the date of existence of the Permanent Establishment.

Example: Company K, incorporated in Luxembourg on October 22^nd 2019, opens a branch in Abu Dhabi on July 1^st 2024. The existence of the PE for Company K will be on January 1^st 2025.

Company K is a Non-Resident Person with a PE after March 1^st 2024. Therefore, it must submit a Tax Registration application for Corporate Tax within six months from the existence of the Permanent Establishment, i.e. by July 1^st 2025.

C) Non-Resident Person having nexus in the UAE prior to 01 March 2024

The due date for corporate tax registration for persons in this category will be three months from the effective date of FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024.

Example: Company J purchases a residential property in Ras Al-Khaimah for investment purposes on January 10^th 2024. It should be noted that the Company J was incorporated in Oman on January 3^rd 2024.

Company J rents out the property on February 15^th 2024. Company J is a non-resident person and doesn’t have a PE in the UAE. However, it has a nexus in the UAE. Even though the property was bought on January 10^th  2024, earnings from the property were not generated until February 15^th 2024.

Therefore, Company J had a nexus in the UAE on February 15^th 2024. Therefore, it should submit the UAE corporate tax registration application within three months from the effective date of FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, i.e. by May 31^st 2024.

D). Non-Resident Person having nexus in the UAE on or after 01 March 2024

The due date to file corporate tax registration applications for persons meeting this condition will be within three months from the date of establishment of Nexus in the UAE.

Registration Timeline for Resident Natural Persons

A resident natural person is required to file for corporate tax registration if their Turnover from Business or Business Activity in the UAE exceeds AED 1 million during a Gregorian calendar year, starting from January 1^st 2024.

Natural Persons meeting this condition must submit a Tax Registration application for Corporate Tax to the FTA by March 31^st of the subsequent Gregorian calendar year.

Registration timeline for natural persons that are Non-Resident Persons

A natural person who is a Non-Resident Person must submit the Corporate Tax registration application to the FTA if the Turnover from a Business or Business Activity in the UAE derived from a PE exceeds AED 1 million during a Gregorian calendar year, starting from January 1^st 2024.

Natural Persons meeting this condition must submit the applications within three months of meeting the requirements of being subject to Corporate Tax. Corporate tax advisers can help you plan and submit the applications.

Hire the Best Corporate Tax Consultants in Dubai

Corporate tax registration in the UAE is riddled with challenges and requires meticulous planning. The best corporate tax advisers in Dubai such as Tax Gian can help you in this process.

We are backed by visionary leadership and a team comprising the best corporate tax consultants in Dubai. Our corporate tax consulting services in Dubai will help organizations navigate through various challenges such as corporate tax assessment, corporate tax calculation, corporate tax registration, transfer pricing services, corporate tax return filing & tax payment, penalty appeal services etc.