“Registration of Juridical Persons Guide” issued recently by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA).

Brief overview of the process

• Taxable persons who are already registered for VAT or Excise Tax can use their existing login details. Taxable Persons who are not subject to VAT or Excise Tax but are within the scope of the Corporate Tax will be required to register for Corporate Tax purposes on Emara tax platform;
• A person who wishes to register for Corporate Tax must submit a registration application along with the relevant supporting documentation to the FTA;
• The FTA will review each application and approve or reject it. The review of registration applications by FTA is estimated to take 20 business days from the date of submission of completed application;
• In case additional information is requested by the FTA, the FTA will aim to respond to the applicant within 20 business days of receiving the additional information;
• Separate TRN will be provided for corporate tax purposes;
• Upon registration, taxable persons have to ensure that the details provided in the registration are up to date and if there are any updates to the same, it must be intimated to FTA within 20 business days. They also have to ensure that corporate tax returns must be filed within 9 months from the end of the tax period after paying corporate tax, if any and records are maintained for a period of 7 years following the end of tax period.

Documents required for the purposes of corporate tax registration

• Copy of Trade/ Business Licence;
• Passport of the immediate owner who directly owns at least 25% of shares (in case of individual);
• Emirates ID of the immediate owner who directly owns at least 25% of shares (in case of UAE resident individual);
• Copy of Passport of authorised signatory;
• Emirates ID of authorised signatory (in case of UAE resident individual);
• Proof of attorney/ memorandum of association for authorised signatory.
• Copy of Trade/ Business Licence;
• Passport of the immediate owner who directly owns at least 25% of shares (in case of individual);
• Emirates ID of the immediate owner who directly owns at least 25% of shares (in case of UAE resident individual);
• Copy of Passport of authorised signatory;
• Emirates ID of authorised signatory (in case of UAE resident individual);
• Proof of attorney/ memorandum of association for authorised signatory.

Note: FTA may also request additional documents via. EmaraTax portal.

Some notable takeaways from the Guide

• Non-Resident: Non-Resident Persons that derive only State Sourced Income without having a Permanent Establishment in the UAE are not required to register for corporate tax. But, it is pertinent to note that Non-resident juridical persons who have a nexus in the UAE i.e. earning income from any Immovable Property in the UAE, would be required to register for corporate tax;
• Derives Only Exempt Income: In addition, if a juridical person incorporated, established or recognised under the applicable legislation in the UAE only derives Exempt Income, this does not exempt the Person from registering for Corporate Tax;
• Exempt Persons: The entities which may be exempt if an application is approved by the FTA are Public and private pension or social security funds, Qualifying Investment Funds, Juridical persons incorporated in the UAE that are wholly owned and controlled by certain exempt persons. Before making an application to be exempt from Corporate Tax, these entities must register for Corporate Tax and obtain a TRN;
• Branch Offices: A branch of a UAE company will not be able to register for Corporate Tax individually. The head office must register for Corporate Tax on behalf of all of the UAE branches;
• Free Zone Branches: The above-mentioned point is also applicable for Free Zone branches of mainland UAE juridical persons and also for mainland branches of Free Zones Persons. This is pertinent to note specifically in the context of Free Zone Person definition which specifically includes a branch of a UAE mainland or foreign juridical person that is registered in a Free Zone for the purpose of determining if an entity qualifies as ‘Qualifying Free Zone Person’;
• Power of FTA to register: If the FTA believes that a Person is a Taxable Person and should have registered for corporate tax but has failed to do so, then the FTA can, at its discretion and based on information available with it, register such person for corporate tax. A Person has the right to appeal against a tax assessment issued following a registration initiated by the FTA if they disagree with such a decision;
• Effectively managed in UAE: For a juridical person to be considered effectively managed and controlled in the UAE, it is not necessary for its board members (or equivalent) to be domiciled or resident in the UAE. Effective management and control is not determined by where the decisions made by the ultimate decision makers are implemented or managed on a day-to-day basis. This is where the key management or commercial decisions are regularly and predominantly made throughout the relevant tax period.;
• Deregistration Process: If a juridical person is no longer subject to Corporate Tax i.e. where Business or Business Activity ceases to exist, dissolution or liquidation of entity, they should deregister by filing an application with FTA. A juridical person is required to file a tax deregistration application within 3 months of such date when the entity ceases to exist, or is dissolved or liquidated. It must meet all of their tax compliance obligations such as filing all of the relevant Tax Returns and paying all Corporate Tax liabilities and administrative