Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZA) Company Setup 2026: Cost, Licence Types & Visa Quota

Last updated: September 2026. No DAFZA licence price is stated as fact below, because DAFZA publishes none.

The UAE government's own registrar directory entry for Dubai Airport Free Zone lists the field "fees and taxes by service" as N/A [1]. DAFZ's own 26 page client guide of January 2026 contains no fee table anywhere [2]. That is not a gap in our research. It is the fact behind every confusing thing you will read about a DAFZA company setup.

Because DAFZA publishes no price, every AED figure you find is a consultancy's package price. Across the 27 pages ranking for this topic the same entry tier is advertised from AED 23,000 to AED 50,000, and one quotes a flat AED 10,000 a year licence against eight or more quoting AED 15,000.

Since 2013, BusinessDubai.ae has registered companies across the UAE free zones. This guide covers what Designated Zone status does for goods and nothing for services, the activity codes on the DAFZ register, the legal forms available in 2026, visa quota, mainland access, banking, annual filings and who should pick a different zone.

Why does every DAFZA price you find online disagree?

Because Dubai Airport Free Zone publishes no fee schedule. The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism's registrar directory for DAFZA marks its fee field as N/A, and DAFZ's own January 2026 client guide carries no price table [1][2]. Every AED figure in circulation is a consultancy package price, not DAFZA's.

When a zone publishes a rate card, quotes converge and you can check the seller against the source. When it does not, each agent builds a bundle, adds a margin and prints a "from" price. That produces the spread below, from the pages ranking for DAFZA cost in September 2026.

Read that as a warning about the sales channel, not the zone. DAFZA itself is real, well run and inside Dubai International Airport's cargo area.

Real Talk: Treat any page presenting an AED figure as "DAFZA's official licence cost" as unreliable on everything else too. Ask your agent in writing to split the DAFZA authority fee from their own service fee.

What can you actually compare a DAFZA quote against?

Compare it against Dubai free zone prices you can verify. BusinessDubai.ae transacts at AED 12,500 licence only and AED 21,050 with one residence visa at Meydan Free Zone, Dubai South and Expo City, and at AED 12,900 and AED 21,400 at IFZA [15]. DAFZA sits above all four.

Those zones sell the same product shape: licence, flexi desk, visa allocation. Read any DAFZA quote as the gap against the table below, and make the seller explain it.

All four carry three activities and three shareholders [15]. They are a floor, not DAFZA's price. A DAFZA quote at three times an Expo City package is not automatically wrong, but it needs itemising. Our free zone company setup page prices each Dubai route by visa count.

Pro Tip: Ask for four numbers in one email before paying anything: the DAFZA authority fee, the space cost with its square metre figure, the per visa cost, and the year two renewal total. A seller who answers all four in writing is quoting a real package.

Get an itemised quote→

Which licence types and activity codes can you register at DAFZA?

DAFZA issues trade, service, industrial, general trading and e-commerce licences, and its register carries 2,044 activities drawn from ISIC Revision 4 [1][13]. Each has a code. Of those 2,044, 49 name aircraft, aviation, airline or airport, and 72 sit in the Transportation and storage category.

The code, not the sector word, is what goes on the licence, what Dubai Customs reads and what a bank matches against your invoices. Not one ranking page names a single code.

Once the overlap is removed, 105 distinct register entries are aviation, cargo, warehousing or logistics [13]. That is the zone's centre of gravity, and why an aircraft parts trader belongs here in a way a marketing agency does not.

Common Mistake: Letting the agent pick the code from your sector. Air cargo agent (5229-018) and Air cargo services (5224-003) are different activities, and a customs broker needs 5229-004 whether or not it also forwards freight. Getting it wrong means an amendment filing, and DAFZA publishes no amendment fee.

Which legal form should you register, and is FZE still an option?

DAFZA offers three forms: the FZCO, the PLC and a branch of an existing company [1]. An FZCO needs minimum share capital of AED 1 with at least 25% paid up on allotment and no cap on shareholder numbers. A PLC needs AED 250,000. A branch needs no capital [3].

The FZE question is the one competitor pages still get wrong. DAFZA is regulated by the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority under Dubai Law No. 16 of 2021, and the DIEZ Implementing Regulations 2023 repealed the old Dubai Airport Free Zone Implementing Regulations 2021 outright [3][14]. Those regulations state that all FZEs are considered to be FZCOs.

FZCO share capital is nominal rather than a cash deposit, so the AED 1 figure is real. Free zone or mainland changes your cost, your visa quota and whether you can invoice a Dubai government body directly, so price both. Our free zone company setup and mainland company setup pages itemise each route including year two.

Common Mistake: Accepting a quote for a "DAFZA FZE". The FZE was folded into the FZCO in 2023 [3]. Several ranking pages still offer it and one prices FZE registration at AED 10,000.

Is DAFZA a VAT Designated Zone, and what does that mean?

Yes. Dubai Airport Free Zone and the DAFZA Industrial Park at Al Qusais both appear on the Federal Tax Authority's Designated Zones list made under Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017 as amended [4]. Only four of 27 ranking pages mention this and none explains it. It is the main reason to choose DAFZA.

Designated Zone status is conditional, not a badge. Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017, Article 51, requires a fenced area, customs controls over the movement of people and goods, internal procedures for storing and processing goods, and an operator that follows FTA procedures [5]. Stop meeting one and the zone counts as inside the UAE.

Article 51(9) then deems any person resident in a Designated Zone to have a place of residence in the UAE [5]. Your company is onshore: it registers for VAT above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies, files returns and can join a VAT group like any mainland business [2][11]. Our Designated Zone VAT guide lists every zone holding the status.

How does Designated Zone VAT treatment work for goods?

Goods supplied inside a Designated Zone are treated as supplied outside the UAE and are out of scope, unless the goods are consumed, and resale is not consumption [5][6]. Goods moving from DAFZA into the mainland are a taxable import, and the mainland importer accounts for the 5%, not the DAFZA seller.

That last point is where competitor content reverses the liability.

Two practical consequences. An office computer, a company car or stationery your DAFZA business buys and uses is consumed, so it carries 5% inside the zone [6]. And Article 51(8) treats untaxed goods that are unaccounted for as imported, so stock loss is a VAT event [5].

Common Mistake: Telling a mainland buyer that Designated Zone status makes their purchase VAT free. Goods leaving DAFZA for the mainland are an import and the buyer accounts for the 5% [5][6].

Does Designated Zone status help a services business at DAFZA?

No. Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017, Article 51(6), places the supply of services inside the State where the place of supply is a Designated Zone [5]. A DAFZA consultancy, agency, IT firm or training provider charges 5% VAT exactly as a mainland business does, with no Designated Zone benefit at all.

This error costs money both ways. A services business paying a DAFZA premium for a VAT advantage buys nothing. One that stops charging VAT because it sits in a Designated Zone builds an underdeclared position that surfaces at the first audit, with the tax still owed.

Real Talk: If you sell services and are considering DAFZA for tax reasons, stop. The benefit is zero, confirmed in the Executive Regulations, and you will pay airport adjacent rent for it [5]. Choose it only if you need to sit beside your aviation clients.

Can a DAFZA company actually reach 0% corporate tax?

A goods business can. A consultancy cannot. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, Article 2(1)(l), lists as a Qualifying Activity, verbatim, "Distribution of goods or materials in or from a Designated Zone" [7]. That line exists because of zones like DAFZA, and no non designated zone can use it.

Article 2(3)(l) is where the 0% is won or lost. Goods entering the UAE must be imported through the Designated Zone and supplied to a customer who resells, processes or alters them for sale or resale, or to a public benefit entity [7]. Article 2(2)(a) separately makes transactions with natural persons an Excluded Activity.

Two guardrails apply to everyone who qualifies. Non qualifying revenue is capped at the lower of 5% of revenue or AED 5,000,000, and a breach costs Qualifying Free Zone Person status for that period plus the four following, at 9% with no AED 375,000 nil band [7][8]. Our Qualifying Free Zone Person guide sets out every condition.

Model your tax position→

When is Small Business Relief the better route than QFZP?

When revenue is under AED 3,000,000 and the activity is not on the Qualifying Activities list. Small Business Relief and Qualifying Free Zone Person status are mutually exclusive, and relief runs for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 under Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026 [9]. Most small DAFZA services companies should take the relief.

The reason is compliance cost, not headline rate. A Qualifying Free Zone Person must produce audited financial statements at any revenue level, while an ordinary taxable person needs them only above AED 50,000,000 [10]. A QFZP also tracks de minimis revenue every period. Electing relief drops all of that.

Quick Math: A DAFZA advisory company billing AED 1,600,000 with AED 600,000 of costs has AED 1,000,000 of profit. Advisory work is not on the Article 2(1) list, so as an ordinary taxable person it pays 0% to AED 375,000 and 9% above, about AED 56,250 [7][8]. Electing Small Business Relief instead, it pays nil and skips the audit [9][10].

Common Mistake: Assuming small means exempt. Relief is elected on the return each period and a loss in an electing period cannot be carried forward [9]. Registration is still mandatory, and registering late carries an AED 10,000 penalty however small the company is [11].

How many visas can a DAFZA licence hold?

Your quota at DAFZA is tied to the size of the space you lease, not to the licence. DAFZA does not publish the square metre per visa ratio, and third party figures conflict: some state one visa per 8.33 square metres and others state 9 square metres. Confirm the current ratio in writing before you lease.

The mechanism is not in dispute even though the number is. A smart desk carries a small allocation, a standard office more, a warehouse unit the most. The trap is that space taken for cost reasons silently sets the headcount you can sponsor, and upgrading later means a new lease.

Pro Tip: Work backwards from headcount. Write down the residence visas you will need in month twelve, including dependants, then ask DAFZA for the smallest space that supports it and its price, in one email. Our UAE visa quotas guide explains how quota and office tier interlock.

What is being physically inside the airport actually worth?

Dubai Customs runs an office inside the DAFZ compound at Building 8E, ground and mezzanine floors, and the residency and foreign affairs directorate sits in the same building [2]. One published logistics comparison estimates airport adjacency can take one to two days off total transit against non adjacent zones.

Treat that transit figure carefully. It comes from a third party logistics firm's May 2026 zone comparison, not from DAFZA or Dubai Customs. What is confirmed is the fact behind it: customs and immigration are both in a building you can walk to [2].

Based on our experience: Proximity pays for itself in exception handling, not the normal case. When a shipment is flagged or a document queried, the difference between a walk across the compound and a cross city trip is a working day. If you ship a pallet a month by sea, you are paying for something you never use.

DAFZA, JAFZA or Dubai South: which zone fits your goods?

Choose on how your goods arrive and what they weigh. DAFZA suits air freight that is high value and low volume: pharmaceuticals, aircraft parts, electronics, luxury goods. Jebel Ali Free Zone suits sea freight and bulk. Dubai South sits beside Al Maktoum International with cheaper space. All three hold Designated Zone status [4].

The test is one question: does your cargo arrive by air? If yes, the DAFZA premium buys something measurable. If it arrives by sea you are paying airport rent to truck goods from Jebel Ali, and our JAFZA guide and Dubai South guide price those routes.

Can you sell to the UAE mainland from a DAFZA company?

You can sell to mainland customers, but you cannot operate inside mainland Dubai without a mainland presence: a branch, a dual licence with the Department of Economy and Tourism, or a mainland distributor. Goods leaving DAFZA also cross a customs border, with 5% import VAT falling on the mainland recipient [5][6].

There is a tax consequence too. Mainland revenue that is not a Qualifying Activity counts against the de minimis cap, so a Qualifying Free Zone Person building a mainland sales line can lose the status for five periods [7].

If most customers are UAE businesses buying for their own use, a mainland company setup is usually cheaper once the branch is added. To invoice overseas clients only, our offshore company formation team can price a lighter structure, and our import and export guide covers the customs side.

What documents does a DAFZA application need, and how long does it take?

DAFZA runs a three step process: choose your licence, choose your company type, choose your space [1]. It publishes no processing time guarantee, in its government filing or its 2026 client guide [1][2]. Third party estimates run from ten business days to four weeks, and none comes from DAFZA.

Document stalls are almost always attestation of foreign corporate papers.

Your real start date is set by the sequence after the licence: establishment card, entry permit or status change, medical and biometrics, then Emirates ID and stamping. Two to four weeks on a clean file, longer whenever a document needs attestation.

Common Mistake: Starting the parent attestation chain after the application opens. For a branch of a foreign company the attested parent documents are the critical path, and no pressure on DAFZA speeds them up. Begin legalisation while you are still choosing the space.

Which banks open accounts for DAFZA companies?

DAFZ's own client guide names seven banks at the zone: Emirates Islamic Bank, Mashreq Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Invest Bank, Bank of China and WIO Bank [2]. In practice WIO and Mashreq open most readily for free zone companies, and DAFZA is among the zones traditional banks are comfortable with.

The zone does not open the account, the bank does, and there is no fully remote account opening in the UAE. The signatory must be present and the bank must see the business. The outcome turns on your file: a licence activity matching the invoices, named counterparties, and a source of funds story that survives questions.

Based on our experience: The decline reason we see most often is a mismatch between the licence activity and the trade documents, such as a general trading licence presented with air cargo agency invoices. Fixing it at licensing stage costs nothing. Fixing it afterwards costs a rejected application.

What has to be filed every year, and what do renewal and exit cost?

Corporate tax registration within the federal deadline, with an AED 10,000 penalty for late filing; the return nine months after the period ends; VAT returns once registered above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies; and the beneficial owner declaration on incorporation, within 15 days of any change and again at every licence renewal [2][3][11][12].

Audit is the line founders miss. Audited financial statements are required above AED 50,000,000 of revenue for an ordinary taxable person, and at any revenue for a Qualifying Free Zone Person [10]. The 0% route costs an audit every year and a de minimis calculation every period.

DAFZA publishes neither a renewal nor an exit schedule [1][2]. A clean exit has four lines and no published total: visa cancellation for every resident, licence cancellation, establishment card and immigration clearance, and corporate tax deregistration. Treat any single exit number as an estimate until those four are itemised.

Year two is when the licence stops being the founder's job: renewal, the beneficial owner update, the tax return and the visa renewals all land within a few months. Our post-setup services team runs that calendar.

Pro Tip: Ask for the renewal and exit figures in the same email as your year one quote. You have bargaining power exactly once, and it is before the first payment.

Who should avoid DAFZA?

Anyone whose goods do not arrive by air, anyone selling services who was drawn here by a tax story, anyone selling to end consumers, and anyone choosing on price. Only one of the 27 ranking pages says so. DAFZA is a strong zone for a narrow set of businesses and expensive for everyone else.

If the address does not have to say Dubai, the arithmetic changes completely. Our business setup in Sharjah and business setup in Ajman pages show what those packages include, and for ecommerce our Dubai CommerCity guide is the closer comparison.

What do founders get wrong about DAFZA?

Five mistakes account for most bad DAFZA outcomes and four are made before anything is signed: treating an advertised price as DAFZA's, buying Designated Zone status for a services business, assuming free zone means 0% tax, reversing the VAT liability, and choosing the office tier before counting visas.

The fifth is quieter. Founders choose DAFZA on prestige, then find that what they needed, a specific activity code or a customs broker licence, was never in the comparison. Our logistics company setup guide and customs clearance guide cover those routes.

Real Client Stories

These are real examples from businesses we have helped set up. Names have been changed for privacy.

Rakesh's air cargo agency (DAFZA)

Rakesh, an Indian freight founder moving pharmaceutical shipments out of Mumbai, collected three DAFZA quotes ranging from AED 28,000 to AED 61,000 and assumed two were dishonest. They were not. Each bundled a different office tier and visa count under one "from" figure, and none separated the authority fee from the agent's margin. Rebuilt on the same basis, the real gap was the space, not the licence. He signed with the only agent who itemised. "Three prices for the same thing meant three different things."

Claudia's aviation consultancy (moved to Meydan Free Zone)

Claudia, a German aviation safety consultant, wanted DAFZA because a competitor page told her a Designated Zone company does not charge VAT. Article 51(6) places services supplied in a Designated Zone onshore, so her invoices carried 5% either way. We moved her to Meydan Free Zone at AED 21,050 with one investor visa, and because consultancy is not a Qualifying Activity she elected Small Business Relief and paid nil. "I was about to pay airport rent for a benefit that does not exist for what I sell."

The distributor who lost the 0% on one customer type

An Egyptian founder distributing consumer electronics from DAFZA was confident of the 0% rate, because distribution from a Designated Zone is a Qualifying Activity. Then he opened a direct to consumer channel. Sales to end consumers are not qualifying under Article 2(3)(l), and transactions with natural persons are an Excluded Activity, so that revenue counted against the de minimis cap and threatened his status for five tax periods. We moved the consumer line into a separate entity. "One channel nearly cost me the tax position."

Your next steps on a DAFZA company

Three decisions matter here and only one is price. Whether your goods arrive by air, because that is the only thing the airport premium buys. Whether you sell goods or services, because Designated Zone status is worth a great deal to the first and nothing to the second. And who your customer is, because distribution from a Designated Zone reaches 0% only where the buyer resells or processes the goods.

BusinessDubai.ae has completed 700+ company registrations across the UAE, including free zone trading, logistics and aviation setups, with itemised pricing and no hidden fees. We will put a DAFZA quote beside a free zone company setup at a published price zone and a mainland company setup on the same page, split the authority fee from the service fee, and hand the calendar to our post-setup services team.

Compare DAFZA against a published price zone→

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DAFZA?

DAFZA, or Dubai Airport Free Zone, is a Dubai free zone established by Law No. 2 of 1996 inside the Dubai International Airport cargo area. Since 2021 it has been regulated by the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority under Dubai Law No. 16 of 2021.

Does DAFZA publish its licence fees?

No. The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism's registrar directory entry for DAFZA lists "fees and taxes by service" as N/A, and DAFZ's own 26 page client guide of January 2026 contains no fee table. Every figure online is a consultancy's package price.

How much does a DAFZA licence cost in 2026?

There is no published answer, which is itself the answer. Advertised figures run from AED 10,000 to AED 50,000 a year for the licence alone and from AED 23,000 to AED 50,000 for the same entry tier. All are agent prices.

Why do DAFZA quotes differ so much between consultants?

Because DAFZA publishes no rate card, so each agent builds its own bundle of licence, space and visas and prints one "from" figure. The differences sit in the office tier and visa count, not the licence. Ask for the authority fee separately.

Can I still register an FZE at DAFZA?

No. The DIEZ Implementing Regulations 2023 state that all FZEs are considered to be FZCOs, so the FZE is not a current formation type. Any agent quoting a DAFZA FZE is working from pre 2023 material.

What is the minimum share capital for a DAFZA FZCO?

AED 1, with at least 25% of nominal value paid up on allotment, under the DIEZ Implementing Regulations 2023. A public limited company needs AED 250,000. A branch has no share capital requirement.

Is DAFZA a VAT Designated Zone?

Yes. Dubai Airport Free Zone and the DAFZA Industrial Park at Al Qusais both appear on the Federal Tax Authority's Designated Zones list under Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017 as amended. Only four of 27 ranking pages mention it.

Does Designated Zone status mean a DAFZA company pays no VAT?

No. It gives conditional out of scope treatment to certain supplies of goods only. Services are taxed as if supplied onshore, goods consumed inside the zone carry 5%, and the company still registers above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies.

Who pays the VAT when goods move from DAFZA to the UAE mainland?

The importer, meaning the mainland recipient, not the DAFZA seller. A registered importer accounts for the 5% through its return and an unregistered one pays before release. Competitor content frequently states this the wrong way round.

What happens to goods moving between two Designated Zones?

A transfer from DAFZA to another Designated Zone such as JAFZA stays outside the scope of VAT, provided the goods are not released, used or altered and the movement follows GCC customs suspension rules. The Federal Tax Authority can require a guarantee.

Can a DAFZA consultancy get the 0% corporate tax rate?

No. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 sets a closed list of Qualifying Activities with no services catch all, and consultancy, marketing, recruitment and IT are absent. It pays 0% to AED 375,000 and 9% above, or nil under Small Business Relief.

What is "distribution in or from a Designated Zone"?

It is Qualifying Activity (l) in Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 and the main corporate tax reason to sit in DAFZA. It covers buying and selling tangible goods, provided they enter the UAE through the zone and are sold to a reseller, processor or public benefit entity.

Can a DAFZA company claim Small Business Relief?

Yes, if it is not a Qualifying Free Zone Person and revenue is under AED 3,000,000. The two routes are mutually exclusive. Relief runs for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 under Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026.

Does a DAFZA company need an audit?

In two cases. An ordinary taxable person needs audited financial statements above AED 50,000,000 of revenue. A Qualifying Free Zone Person needs them at any revenue level, because audited accounts are a condition of the status itself.

How many visas can I get with a DAFZA licence?

Your quota depends on the size of the space you lease, not the licence. DAFZA does not publish the square metre per visa ratio, and third party sources conflict, some stating one visa per 8.33 square metres and others 9. Confirm it before leasing.

What happens if I need more visas than my space allows?

You upgrade the space, which means a new lease rather than a simple amendment, and the cost difference is usually larger than founders expect. Settle the visa count before the office tier is chosen.

How long does DAFZA company setup take?

DAFZA publishes no processing guarantee. Its government filing confirms a three step process, choose the licence, the company type and the space, with no day count. Third party estimates run from ten business days to four weeks, and the visa sequence adds two to four more.

Can I trade with the UAE mainland from DAFZA?

You can sell to mainland customers, but operating inside mainland Dubai needs a branch, a dual licence with the Department of Economy and Tourism, or a distributor. Goods crossing into the mainland are an import for both customs and VAT.

Do I pay customs duty moving goods from DAFZA to the mainland?

Goods in a UAE free zone enter duty free and are re-exported duty free, with duty falling due when they enter the mainland market under the GCC Common Customs Law administered by Dubai Customs, which keeps an office inside DAFZ at Building 8E.

Which banks open accounts for DAFZA companies?

DAFZ's own 2026 client guide names Emirates Islamic Bank, Mashreq Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Invest Bank, Bank of China and WIO Bank. There is no fully remote account opening in the UAE, so the signatory must attend in person.

Is DAFZA better than JAFZA?

Only if your goods arrive by air. DAFZA sits beside Dubai International Airport and suits high value, time sensitive cargo such as pharmaceuticals, aircraft parts and electronics. JAFZA sits beside Jebel Ali Port and suits sea freight and bulk. Both hold Designated Zone status.

Is DAFZA worth it compared with IFZA or Meydan?

Only for goods businesses that use the airport or the Designated Zone status. Meydan, Dubai South and Expo City are AED 12,500 licence only and AED 21,050 with one visa. For a services company the cheaper zones give the same tax position.

What does it cost to renew a DAFZA licence?

DAFZA publishes no renewal schedule, so any renewal figure you are shown is an estimate. What is fixed by regulation is that the beneficial owner declaration must be resubmitted at every renewal. Ask for an itemised total before you pay for year one.

What does it cost to close a DAFZA company?

There is no published exit schedule. Budget four lines: visa cancellation for every resident, licence cancellation, establishment card and immigration clearance, and corporate tax deregistration. Ask for each figure in writing at the start of the relationship.

Can I run an e-commerce business from DAFZA?

Yes, e-commerce is on the DAFZA activity register, but check the tax position first. Selling to end consumers is not a Qualifying Activity, so that revenue cannot reach 0% corporate tax and counts against the de minimis cap.

Does DAFZA have Emiratisation obligations?

DAFZA runs a voluntary Emiratisation programme rather than a mandatory quota. Its January 2026 client guide lists a free employment quota, waived non sponsored work permit fees, waived contract amendment charges for Emirati hires and priority on DIEZA tenders.

References

[1] UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. Registrars Company in the UAE, DAFZA entry: Law No. 2 of 1996, the three legal forms, the three step licensing procedure, and the "fees and taxes by service: N/A" field. moet.gov.ae

[2] Dubai Airport Freezone. DAFZ Essentials client guide, January 2026: no fee table, beneficial owner rules, VAT thresholds, the banks at the zone, the Dubai Customs office at Building 8E and Emiratisation. dafz.ae

[3] Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. Implementing Regulations 2023: repeal of the 2021 DAFZ regulations, FZCO capital of AED 1 with 25% paid up, PLC capital of AED 250,000, and all FZEs treated as FZCOs. dso.ae

[4] Federal Tax Authority. List of Designated Zones under Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017 as amended, naming Dubai Airport Free Zone and the DAFZA Industrial Park at Al Qusais. tax.gov.ae

[5] Federal Tax Authority. Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017, VAT Executive Regulations, Article 51: zone conditions, consumption at 51(5), transfers at 51(4), services at 51(6), residence at 51(9). tax.gov.ae

[6] Federal Tax Authority. Designated Zones VAT Guide, VATGDZ1: worked examples of consumption, and goods moving to the mainland treated as an import. tax.gov.ae

[7] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025: Articles 2(1)(l) and 2(3)(l) on distribution in or from a Designated Zone, 2(1)(m) on logistics, de minimis at Article 3, loss of status at Article 5(2). mof.gov.ae

[8] Federal Tax Authority. Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022: 0% to AED 375,000 and 9% above, and the Qualifying Free Zone Person structure with no nil band. tax.gov.ae

[9] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 as amended by Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026: Small Business Relief at AED 3,000,000 to 31 December 2029, with Qualifying Free Zone Persons excluded. mof.gov.ae

[10] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 on Audited Financial Statements: the AED 50,000,000 limb and the Qualifying Free Zone Person limb at any revenue. mof.gov.ae

[11] Federal Tax Authority. Corporate tax registration under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, the AED 10,000 late penalty, and VAT thresholds of AED 375,000 and AED 187,500. tax.gov.ae

[12] Ministry of Economy. Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 on Regulating the Real Beneficiary Procedures: the register, the 25% test and the 15 day update window. moet.gov.ae

[13] Dubai Airport Freezone. DAFZ ISIC Activity List 2025, the 2,044 entry register behind every activity code named here. dafz.ae

[14] Government of Dubai. Dubai Law No. 16 of 2021 establishing the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority over Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity. dlp.dubai.gov.ae

[15] BusinessDubai.ae. Internal data from UAE free zone registrations since 2013: 2026 package pricing by visa count across eleven zones, mainland setup costs, banking outcomes and the case studies above. businessdubai.ae