In brief The UAE has introduced a number of new welcome legislative changes to mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary, with the aim of solidifying the country’s position as a global trade and commercial hub. Among these changes is the issuance of Federal Law by Decree No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies (“New Law”), which has now come into force last 2 January 2022. This alert serves as a reminder to all companies incorporated in…
In brief Earlier last week, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), issued a decree introducing a number of fundamental changes to the UAE Commercial Companies Law (CCL Amendment) and to the UAE’s approach towards foreign direct investment (FDI) in general. The CCL Amendment adopted a new general rule of, in principle, allowing foreign investors to fully own certain types of companies in the mainland of the UAE. The…
In brief The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made significant changes to its Economic Substance regime, with the UAE Cabinet of Ministers recently issuing Cabinet Decision No. (57) of 2020 (the new ESR Resolution). The new ESR Resolution repeals and replaces Cabinet Resolution No. (31) of 2019, as amended, and Cabinet Resolution No. (58) of 2019, which was published in June 2019. The Ministry of Finance also updated its Guidance via Ministerial Decision No. (100)…
Recap Licensees with a financial year-end (“FYE”) of 31 December 2019 were required to submit the economic substance notification pursuant to the Economic Substance Regulations (Cabinet Resolution No. 31 of 2019 or “ESR”) before 30 June 2020[1]. The submission of the economic substance notification is only the first step in complying with the ESR. The next, and most comprehensive, step is the submission of the economic substance report. This needs to be done by 31 December…
Economic Substance Regulations (ESR) were introduced in the UAE in March 2019 by virtue of Cabinet Resolution No. 31 of 2019 (Cabinet Resolution). The ESR apply to all companies based in the UAE (onshore and free zones), including branches and apply to financial years starting on or after 1 January 2019. The UAE government has delegated the responsibility to regulate and administer the ESR to the various onshore and free zone authorities (such as the…