1. Doing Business in Dubai

2. United Arab Emirates(UAE)
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UAE is a constitutional federation of seven emirates:
• Abu Dhabi (capital and the largest city of the federation)
• Dubai
• Sharjah
• Ajman
• Umm al-Qaiwain
• Ras al-Khaimah
• Fujairah
The federation was formally established on 2nd December, 1971

3. UAE AT A GLANCE
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65%
18%
13%
4%
Asians UAE Nationals Arab Expatriates Europeans and Others
Population : 7,890,924 (2011)
UAE national : 18 %
Religion : Islam
Languages : Arabic , Urdu , English , Hindi
Per Capita : $48,000
GDP :360.25 billion US dollars in 2011
Currency Exchange Rate: 1 USD = 3.67
AED

4. DOING BUSINESS IN DUBAI
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Doing business in Dubai is very attractive due to following reasons;
 No personal income and capital taxes
 No corporate taxation
 100% repatriation of capital and profits
 No currency restrictions
 Competitive import duties
 Access to wider Middle East and African region
 Easy access to both seaports and airports
 100% Ownership in free Zones
 Cosmopolitan Life Style

5. CORE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
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 Tourism
 Constructions
 IT
 Health Care
 Banking & Finance
 Oil & Gas
 Real Estate
BUSINESS HOURS
 The official weekend is on Friday
and Saturday.
 Government offices open at 7.30
a.m. and close at 3.00 p.m.
 Private offices 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
 During Ramadan 8a.m. to 2p.m

6. DUBAI EXPORTS AND IMPORTS
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Dubai Exports
Dubai’s Total Exports crossed $ 117.4 billion in the year 2012.
Major Exports destinations :
 Iran.
 India
 Saudi Arabia
Dubai Imports
Dubai’s total import is 179.4 USD billion in 2012
Major Import destinations
 Japan.
 China.
 United states.

7. PRINCIPAL FORMS OF BUSINESS
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LLC
Branch &
Representative
Professional
Free Zone
Offshore
Sole
Establishment
Other Forms :
 Partnership
 Joint Venture
 Public & private Limited
Company

8. LIMITED LIABLITY COMPANY
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 Most Common type of Business entity in Dubai
 UAE national’s participation of 51% is mandatory
 Managerial & operational powers vested to Investors
 Can operate in local & international markets
 Liability is limited to the capital of the company
 Number of Share holders minimum of 2 and maximum of 50
 Profit and loss distribution can be prescribed.
 UAE nationals is acting as a sleeping partner and normally he is paid a lump sum yearly
fee and he is not interfered in the operations of the company.
 Customs duty is 5% applicable
 Special approvals is required for certain business activities from concern department

9. BRANCH OF FOREIGN COMPANY
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 100% ownership with parent company
 Local service agent is mandatory- Local service agent must be a UAE national or a
company fully owned by UAE national.
 Managerial, operational and banking powers vested to the representative of the
parent company
 A branch office can enter into transactions and offer its service to customers
 Better possibility for market penetration by utilizing the brand name.
 Only Parent Company products and services can be offered
 100% tax benefits.

10. REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE
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 100% ownership with parent company
 Only allowed to promote/market the business activity of parent company.
 Local service agent is mandatory
 Representative offices cannot enter into a business transaction
 Trading can be done only through a distributor or directly by the parent company.

11. PROFESSIONAL FIRM
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 License are issued only for professional activities
 100 % ownership is allowed
 Share holders must have qualification & experience in related activity /business
 Local service agent is mandatory
 Local service agent must be a UAE individual /100 % UAE local owned company
 Trading activities are not allowed

12. SOLE ESTABLISHMENT
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Activities like real estate , hospitality, education can be formed as Sole
Establishment.
 100 % UAE individual owned company
 100 % tax benefits
 Unlimited Liability
 International & local business can be possible
 Investors can enter into an agreement to participate in these business activities

13. PARTNERSHIP FIRM
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 Partnership entities are limited to UAE nationals only
 100% owned by UAE nationals.
 Do local and International Business
JOINT VENTURES
 Local equity participation must be at least 51%
 Profit and Loss distribution can be prescribed
 It’s a contractual agreement between foreign party and local
party to a specific project

14. PUBLIC & PRIVATE SHARE HOLDING COMPANY
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 Minimum capital required is AED10 million (USD 2.17 Million) for public
holding company.
 Minimum capital required is AED 2 million (USD 0.545 million) for
private share holding company.
 Directors of the company must be UAE nationals.

15. FREE ZONES
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Free Zones are separate entity :
 To promote FDI in Dubai
 To create Dubai as a Import , Export and re-export business hub
 To Promote Dubai as a hub for distribution channels to GCC and middle
east regions
Free Zone Entity can be established as
 Free Zone Establishment (FZE)with single share holder
 Free Zone Company (FZC) with minimum 2 and maximum 5 shareholders
 Branch / Subsidiary of foreign company.

16. FREE ZONE ADVANTAGES
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The major advantages of free zones are:
 100% foreign ownership
 100% exemption from taxes and duties levied
 100% repatriation of profit and capital
 100% import and export tax exemptions
 No corporate, withholding and inheritance taxes
 No personal income taxes
 No currency restrictions
 Availability of skilled and experienced workforce
 Abundant and inexpensive source of energy
 Highly developed infrastructure
 High level of administrative support
 Modern and efficient communication system

17. WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT NEED TO BE
CONSIDERED FOR CHOOSING A FREEZONE
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 Distance from international air- and seaports
 Facilities and infrastructure offered at the free zone
 Real estate options
 Types of activities allowed by the respective free zone authority
 Annual rent for office space and size of office units
 Minimum capital required
 Processing time of application

18. FREEZONE LIMITATIONS
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 Restricted to do direct business with the UAE Local Market
 UAE local market business can be made through only a
Distributer
 For local business transactions 5 % custom duty is applicable
 Office premises must be within the free zone area

19. FREE ZONES IN DUBAI
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More than 20 free zone are located in Dubai for specific business activities :
 Jebel Ali Free Zone
 Dubai Media City
 Dubai Internet City
 Dubai Knowledge Village
 Dubai Airport Free Zone
 Dubai Silicon Oasis
 Dubai Multi Commodity Center
 Dubai Gold and Diamond park

20. OFFSHORE COMPANY
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 Entity that is formulated in a low tax or no tax jurisdiction
 Improving the investor’s wealth management
 To gain confidentiality over one’s financial affairs
UAE has 3 Offshore jurisdictions
 Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA)
 Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAKFTZ)
 Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA)

21. WHY UAE OFFSHORE IS UNIQUE
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 100% foreign ownership is permitted.
 0 % income tax
 Conduct international business
 No physical of office
 Hold multi currency bank accounts in Dubai
 Freehold ownership and title
 Own shares of other companies
 No capital requirements
 Accounting & Audits Report is not mandatory
 Assets protection
 Security of property rights.

22. TAXATION ENVIRONMENT
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 No personal income taxes
 No corporate taxes
 No VAT levied in the UAE
 No withholding taxes
 No transfer pricing rules
 No requirement to file corporate tax returns in the UAE
 5% import tariff on most goods levied ONLY ONCE at the
first port of entry to the GCC
 The UAE has signed double taxation treaties with over 40
countries

23. LABOUR RULES
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 Employment visa has to be obtained from the Ministry of Interior after the approval from Ministry of
Labour
 Labour contract signed between the employer and employee and registered with the Ministry of Labour
 Work permit is mandatory for all employees
 Salary transferred through the bank under the Wage Protection System (WPS)
 No maximum and minimum salary requirement
 Maximum working hours permissible 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week
 For every completed year of service employee is eligible for 30 days annual leave
 For the termination of employment 1 month notice period is applicable
 An employee is eligible for gratuity at the end of his service depends upon the period of his employment

24. IMMIGRATION & VISA REQUIRMENTS
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 Citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council ( Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and the UAE ) do
not require a visa to enter UAE
 Citizens of few countries who are automatically entitled to visit visa on arrival at UAE airport
 All other visitors who wish to visit UAE must obtain a visit visa in advance through a sponsor.
 The sponsor can be a travel agency, a hotel, a company or department with which one is doing business in
the UAE, or an individual ( e.g., a relative or friend who is a resident in UAE. )
 There are several types of visas ( like the tourist visa, transit visa, visit visa, multiple entry visa and
residence visa etc.) and these primarily depend on the purpose of entry into the UAE.
 Investors in UAE ( except in offshore jurisdictions ) are eligible to get investor/residence visas in UAE.

25. BANKING
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 Many international banks as well as local banks are available in Dubai
 No exchange controls
 International financial transactions are relatively simple
 Foreign currency can be easily converted to local currency and vice versa through money exchange houses
 Companies can open multi currency bank account
 Personal bank account can be opened without residency and the requirements of documents varies
bank to bank
 Easy repatriation of funds
 Minimum balance is applicable and it varies bank to bank
 Corporate bank facilities are extended depends on the tenure of the company and business turn over

26. AUDIT & ACCOUNTING
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 All the companies operating in UAE, the requirements for maintaining accounting records and
for financial reporting are prescribed in the Commercial Companies Law and the Commercial
Transactions Law.
 Accordingly, businesses must keep ledgers and books according to their specific business
requirements, but in all cases should at least keep the daily journal and general ledger. All
accounting information and evidencing documents are to be retained for a period of five
years.

27. FOR ANY ASSISTANCE
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Mr Davis V Kadavan
Mob : 00971509330152
Email : davis@hlbhamt.com

28. THANK YOU
Contact Us
Suite No 1801,City Tower 2
Sheikh Zayed Road,Dubai
UAE,P.O Box : 32665