DAFZA vs JAFZA: Which Dubai Free Zone Is Right for Your Trading Company?

Last Updated: September 2026. No DAFZA or JAFZA package price is stated as fact below, because neither zone publishes one.

The Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority states that its licences "start at AED 5,000" [1]. That is a floor for one line item. Jafza publishes no renewal fee, no facility rate and no per-visa cost anywhere on jafza.ae [1][4][14]. Dubai Airport Free Zone publishes less: the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism's registrar entry for DAFZA records its "fees and taxes by service" field as N/A [2]. Every DAFZA vs JAFZA price table online is assembled from reseller quotes.

The starting point everyone gives you is correct as far as it goes. DAFZA sits inside the Dubai International Airport cargo area and suits air freight, JAFZA sits beside Jebel Ali Port and suits sea freight and bulk, and three of the five pages comparing both zones stop there. Open each zone's own activity register and the line blurs: Jafza licenses Air Cargo Services by name, and DAFZA licenses Sea cargo services by name.

Since 2013, BusinessDubai.ae has registered goods, trading and logistics companies across the UAE free zones. This guide covers pricing, activity codes, licence classification, Designated Zone VAT, corporate tax by buyer type, visa quota, legal forms, port scale, banking and who should pick neither zone.

Is DAFZA for air freight and JAFZA for sea freight?

Yes as a description of infrastructure, no as a description of licensing. DAFZA sits in the Dubai International Airport cargo area and JAFZA sits beside Jebel Ali Port, so freight mode is the obvious starting point. Both zones license both modes by name, which is where the useful comparison actually begins.

Matched pairs from each zone's own list [1][3][17].

Real Talk: A page that says JAFZA is "for sea" and DAFZA is "for air" and stops there has told you the least specific true thing about them. Freight mode decides where your goods land, not what a zone prints on your licence. What costs you money is the activity name, the facility and your buyer.

Why can neither zone quote you a price for a trading licence?

Because neither publishes a fee schedule. Jafza states only that licences start at AED 5,000, a floor for one line with no renewal fee, facility rate or per-visa cost behind it [1]. DAFZA publishes nothing at all, and the UAE registrar entry for it records fees as N/A [2].

No ranking page states this about both zones together. What each puts in public:

So when two agents quote AED 25,000 and AED 55,000 for "the same" setup, neither is necessarily lying. Each bundled a different facility, visa count and margin into one headline.

Common Mistake: Treating a consultancy's figure as the zone's official cost. Ask for four numbers in writing before paying anything: the zone authority fee, the facility cost with its square metre figure, the cost per visa, and the year-two renewal total.

What can you compare a DAFZA or JAFZA quote against?

Compare it against Dubai zones that transact at a known price. BusinessDubai.ae registers companies at AED 12,500 licence only and AED 21,050 with one residence visa at Meydan Free Zone, Dubai South and Expo City [17]. Neither DAFZA nor JAFZA has a comparable published number.

A benchmark, not a substitute for a port or airport zone.

All four benchmark packages carry three activities and three shareholders [17]. A DAFZA or JAFZA quote well above them is not automatically wrong, because you are buying customs-controlled space those zones lack, but it needs itemising. Our free zone company setup page prices each Dubai route by visa count.

Quick Math: Jafza's floor is AED 5,000 for the licence line, against AED 21,050 for a complete Dubai package with one residence visa at Meydan, Dubai South or Expo City [17]. The AED 5,000 headline is not a cheaper zone, it is a smaller line item, excluding the lease, the establishment card and every visa [4].

Get an itemised quote→

Which activities can you actually licence at DAFZA and JAFZA?

Jafza's own licence activity list carries 1,435 activities and the DAFZ ISIC list carries 2,044 [3][17]. The difference that matters is naming: DAFZA lists General Trading and Customs broker as discrete activities, and Jafza's register contains neither by name. No ranking page names a single code.

We checked both registers entry by entry, on the activities traders ask for most.

Jafza is not missing the capability, it reaches it differently. Its register runs Services 586, Industrial 475 and Trading 365, with every freight, cargo and aviation activity on the Services side across 123 groups, one holding 47 transport entries alone [17]. DAFZA uses ISIC Revision 4 categories, 968 under Manufacturing [3].

Based on our experience: The code, not the sector word, goes on the licence, and it is what Dubai Customs reads and a bank matches against your invoices. "Can I do logistics at JAFZA" gets a yes. "Which activity number appears on my licence" gets a useful answer. Our customs clearance company guide and logistics company setup guide cover what each function needs on paper.

How do you get a general trading licence at JAFZA?

Through a licence classification rather than an activity code. Jafza's register has no activity called General Trading, so unlimited trading lines are reached by how many activity groups your trading licence spans, not by ticking one box [1][17]. DAFZA instead lists General Trading as activity 4690-018 [3].

When BusinessDubai.ae read Jafza's business licence page in September 2026 it carried a three-way trading classification: Type 1 for up to seven activities in one group, Type 2 for up to twelve across two or more, and Type 3 for unlimited activities across three or more [1]. Our own JAFZA guide, written five weeks earlier, could not find those labels on the same page, so we will not tell you the classification is currently live.

The mechanism is settled even if the labels are not: at Jafza trading breadth is a property of the licence, and at DAFZA a property of the activity. Get the classification and the permitted activity count confirmed in writing before you sign a lease, because the lease comes first and an amendment afterwards has no published fee. Our general trading company setup guide explains that route.

Is the VAT position different at DAFZA and JAFZA?

No. Both are VAT Designated Zones on the Federal Tax Authority's list under Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017: Jebel Ali Free Zone North-South is Dubai entry number 1 and Dubai Airport Free Zone is Dubai entry number 7 [5]. The VAT answer is identical at both.

Most comparison content implies otherwise. It is the same status, under the same Article 51 conditions in Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017 [6].

Every row is the same, which is the finding. A trader holding stock at Jebel Ali and air-freighting part of it out of DAFZA creates no VAT event by that move alone, provided the goods are not released, used or altered [6]. Our Designated Zone VAT guide covers each movement.

Can a trading company at either zone reach 0% corporate tax?

A goods business can at either zone, on the same terms. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, Article 2(1)(l), makes distribution of goods or materials in or from a Designated Zone a Qualifying Activity, and both zones hold that status [5][7]. The zone is not the variable.

Distribution under Article 2(1)(l) carries a condition on the buyer. Logistics under Article 2(1)(m) covers storing and moving goods for others without taking title, including warehousing, freight forwarding and customs brokerage, with no concentration test [7].

Two guardrails apply identically. 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 five periods, at 9% with no nil band [7][8]. A Qualifying Free Zone Person also needs audited accounts at any revenue [10]. Our Qualifying Free Zone Person guide sets out every condition.

Model your tax position→

Does your buyer type or your freight mode decide the tax rate?

Your buyer type. Article 2(1)(l) of Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 qualifies distribution only where goods enter the UAE through the Designated Zone and go to a buyer who resells, processes or alters them, or to a public benefit entity [7]. Freight mode is irrelevant to that test.

Selling laptops to a UAE company that uses them in its own office is not qualifying distribution, even though the buyer is a business.

Quick Math: A distributor with AED 20,000,000 of revenue has a de minimis ceiling of AED 1,000,000 [7]. Open a consumer channel doing AED 1,400,000 and you are AED 400,000 over. The cost is not tax on AED 400,000, it is loss of Qualifying Free Zone Person status for five periods, so the whole AED 20,000,000 moves to 9% [8].

Real Talk: If you sell direct to consumers, neither zone helps you on corporate tax. Not DAFZA, not JAFZA, at any price. Choose on logistics and cost, and plan on the basis that the 0% route is closed. For a consumer-facing goods business our Dubai CommerCity guide is the closer comparison.

How many visas does each zone allow?

Jafza publishes three firm numbers and DAFZA publishes none. A Jafza workstation carries two visas, a showroom is capped at five regardless of size, and a leased land plot starts at twenty, expandable on approval [11]. DAFZA's square metre per visa ratio is not published anywhere.

Jafza's figures come from its own guide dated 29 September 2021 [11], so treat them as its published position rather than confirmed current practice.

The showroom cap of five is the trap: it looks like the natural choice for a distributor wanting trade frontage, and the ceiling arrives later.

Pro Tip: Work backwards from headcount. Write down the residence visas you will need in month twelve, dependants included, then ask each zone for the smallest facility that supports that number and its price. At DAFZA add a line asking for the square metre per visa ratio in writing.

How big is Jebel Ali Port, and what is DAFZA sitting next to?

Jebel Ali Port handled 15.536 million TEU in 2024 and 15.6 million TEU in 2025, against roughly 19.4 million TEU of annual capacity [12]. DAFZA sits inside the Dubai International Airport cargo area, with Dubai Customs and immigration in Building 8E of the compound [16].

On berths DP World's own numbers do not agree, and we would rather show you that than pick one quietly. Its dated "JAFZA at 40" release of May 2025 describes four terminals with more than 100 berths and 25 kilometres of quay [12]. Its undated ports and terminals page for the same port states 27 berths, 101 quay cranes and 5,000 metres of quay [13].

We use the dated May 2025 figure, because a dated primary source beats an undated one from the same publisher, and the two pages may be counting different things, such as container-handling berths against all berths.

Either way this is the largest container port in the Middle East by a wide margin, and customs duty stays suspended on goods held in the zone until they enter the mainland [6]. For a re-exporter that is working capital that never leaves the account, and our import and export business guide covers the mechanics.

Based on our experience: Airport adjacency pays for itself in exception handling, not in the normal case. When a shipment is flagged, the difference between a walk to Building 8E and a cross-city trip is a working day [16]. If you clear one air waybill a month, you are paying airport rent for something you rarely use.

Which legal structures can you register at each zone?

Jafza offers five: FZE, FZCO, branch, offshore and a public limited company [4]. DAFZA offers three, the FZCO, the PLC and a branch, after the DIEZ Implementing Regulations 2023 folded the FZE into the FZCO [2][15]. The PLC exists at both zones on different terms.

The fifth Jafza form is the one nobody publishes: a PLC needs two or more shareholders and must list on an exchange, which makes it a real option for a trading group planning a listing [4].

Jafza prescribes no minimum capital, only that it suits the licensed activities, and the AED 1,000,000 figure on directory sites went in 2017 [4]. To hold assets or invoice overseas clients without a UAE facility, our offshore company formation team prices that instead.

What space does each zone lease, and what does it cost?

Neither zone publishes a rate. Jafza lists land plots, pre-built warehouses from 325 to 2,475 square metres, light industrial units, 11,400 or more offices, showrooms and staff accommodation, with no price on any of them [14]. DAFZA publishes no facility rate either [2].

The lists do tell you who each zone was built for. Jafza publishes 4,850 or more worker rooms in Jafza North and 4,600 or more in Jafza South, plus around 490 restaurants and cafes [14], the amenities of an industrial city. DAFZA's estate is offices plus the Industrial Park at Al Qusais. Specify the facility first, then price the licence and visas on top.

Real Talk: If your trading business has no stock, no staff and no goods flow, neither zone is your answer at any price. You would be buying customs-controlled real estate you never use. Our free zone company setup page prices the desk-based Dubai zones, and our IFZA vs Meydan comparison compares the two most common of them.

How long does each zone take to license you?

Jafza states 3 to 14 business days from complete documents, with an active lease required before registration completes [4]. DAFZA publishes no processing time at all, in its registrar filing or its January 2026 client guide [2][16]. The lease, not the licence, sets your real start date.

Both figures cover the licence only. What decides when you can trade is the sequence afterwards, identical at both zones: establishment card, entry permit, medical and biometrics, then Emirates ID and stamping. Two to four weeks on a clean file, longer if a parent document needs legalisation.

Common Mistake: Reading "3 to 14 business days" as your setup timeline. It is the registration window once documents are complete and a lease is signed, which at Jafza is the last part of the job. One founder moving in from another Dubai zone expected a week and took 23 working days, because the licence update ran 7 days and exit clearance added 5.

Can a DAFZA or JAFZA company sell to the UAE mainland?

You can sell to mainland customers from either zone, but you cannot operate inside mainland Dubai without a branch, a dual licence or a distributor. Goods leaving either zone for the mainland are a taxable import and the mainland recipient accounts for the 5% [6].

Mainland revenue that is not a Qualifying Activity also 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 often cheaper once the branch is added. Our free zone company setup page prices both routes with year two included.

Which zone do banks treat better?

Neither zone opens the account, the bank does. In practice WIO and Mashreq open most readily for free zone companies, and both DAFZA and JAFZA licences read well to compliance teams because the tenant has a lease, stock and shipping documents behind the name.

What decides the outcome is your file: an activity matching the invoices, named counterparties, bills of lading or air waybills, and a source of funds story that survives a follow-up question.

Based on our experience: The decline reason we see most often at both zones is a mismatch between the licence activity and the trade documents, such as a broad trading licence presented with customs brokerage invoices. That is why the naming difference matters commercially. Fixing it at licensing stage costs nothing.

What has to be filed every year at either zone?

The same federal calendar at both: corporate tax registration with an AED 10,000 penalty for filing late, the return nine months after the period ends, VAT returns above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies, the beneficial owner register, and audited financial statements for any Qualifying Free Zone Person [8][10].

A company under AED 3,000,000 of revenue that is not a Qualifying Free Zone Person can elect Small Business Relief instead, to 31 December 2029 [9].

The licence renews annually at both zones and the lease runs on its own cycle, with Jafza's industrial tenants also facing periodic health, safety and environment audits [1][14]. Neither zone publishes a renewal fee or an exit schedule, so ask for both in the same email as your year-one quote, while you still have something to bargain with. Year two is when the renewal, the beneficial owner update, the tax return and the visa renewals all land together, and our post-setup services team runs that calendar.

How do DAFZA and JAFZA compare with the other Dubai goods zones?

Both sit at the expensive end of Dubai. The Federal Tax Authority's Designated Zone list for Dubai also names Dubai Aviation City, which covers the Dubai South area, and Dubai CommerCity [5]. Dubai South transacts at AED 12,500 licence only and AED 21,050 with one residence visa [17].

Designated Zone status, the thing most traders are shopping for, is neither scarce in Dubai nor priced consistently.

For Designated Zone treatment plus a Dubai address at a checkable price, run Dubai South first. For industrial land outside Dubai, Hamriyah Free Zone is the sea-port alternative. Our DAFZA setup guide and JAFZA setup guide cover each zone end to end.

If the address does not have to say Dubai, the arithmetic changes. Hamriyah sits in Sharjah, and our business setup in Sharjah page shows what that emirate's packages include. For a trader who needs no Designated Zone treatment at all, ANC Free Zone in Ajman is the cheapest complete package in the country at AED 10,800 with one residence visa [17], and our business setup in Ajman page shows what that buys. Neither is a substitute for customs-controlled space beside a port or an airport.

What do trading founders get wrong when choosing between these two zones?

Five mistakes cover most of it, and four are made before anything is signed: treating a reseller price as the zone's price, choosing on freight mode alone, assuming the tax answer differs between the zones, picking a facility before counting visas, and licensing a sector instead of an activity.

The fifth is the quiet one. Founders pick a zone on prestige, then find the thing they actually needed, a customs broker activity by name or a general trading classification, was never in the comparison they ran.

Which zone fits your trading business?

By how your goods move, how much space they need and who buys them. DAFZA fits high value, low volume air freight. JAFZA fits bulk, heavy goods and large warehousing or land. A business selling direct to consumers gets no corporate tax benefit at either zone [7].

Real Client Stories

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

Mehmet's building materials trading company (moved to JAFZA)

Mehmet, a Turkish trader importing steel sections and cement products, chose DAFZA first because a comparison page called it Dubai's premium trading zone. His freight was containerised and landed at Jebel Ali. Every consignment was trucked across the city to an airport-side unit and back out for sale, and the double handling outran the rent difference inside two quarters. We relocated him to JAFZA against a warehouse specification. "I bought the reputation and paid for the distance on every container."

The founder who could not find his own activity

A Pakistani founder setting up a customs brokerage asked for JAFZA on a recommendation and was told logistics was covered. It is, but not under that name. Jafza's list carries no entry called Customs broker, the nearest being 630101 Freight Clearing Services, while DAFZ lists 5229-004 outright. His bank had asked for a licence matching the invoices he would issue, so he licensed at DAFZA. "Two zones both said yes to logistics. Only one would print the words my clients pay for."

Helen's supplements brand (JAFZA, and the 0% that was never there)

Helen, a British founder selling supplements to UAE consumers online, took a JAFZA unit understanding that a Designated Zone delivers 0% corporate tax. Sales to natural persons are an Excluded Activity, and qualifying distribution needs a buyer who resells or processes the goods, so none of her revenue was qualifying income. The zone suited her warehousing perfectly well. The tax story was never available at any zone. "Nobody asked who my customer was, and that was the only question that mattered."

Your next steps on DAFZA versus JAFZA

Three decisions matter here, and price is not one of them. How your goods physically arrive, because that is what the airport premium or port adjacency buys. Which activity name goes on the licence, because these zones name the same jobs differently. And who your buyer is, because 0% needs a buyer who resells or processes the goods.

BusinessDubai.ae has completed 700+ company registrations across the UAE, including free zone trading, warehousing and logistics setups, with itemised pricing and no hidden fees. We put a DAFZA quote and a JAFZA quote beside a free zone company setup at a zone that publishes its price, add a mainland company setup if your customers are UAE businesses, and hand the annual calendar to our post-setup services team.

Compare both zones on your numbers→

Frequently Asked Questions

Is JAFZA or DAFZA cheaper in 2026?

Neither publishes enough to answer honestly. Jafza states licences start at AED 5,000, a floor for one line item with no renewal, facility or visa cost behind it, and DAFZA's registrar entry records its fees as N/A.

How much does a DAFZA licence cost in 2026?

There is no published answer, which is itself the answer. The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism's registrar entry lists DAFZA's "fees and taxes by service" as N/A, and DAFZ's January 2026 guide carries no fee table.

How much does it cost to set up in JAFZA?

Jafza publishes one number, that licences start at AED 5,000, and that is the licence line only. It publishes no registration fee, renewal fee, facility rate or per-visa cost, so no honest all-in figure exists until a facility is specified and quoted.

What is the real difference between DAFZA and JAFZA?

Infrastructure and activity naming, not tax. DAFZA sits in the Dubai International Airport cargo area and names General Trading and Customs broker as activities. JAFZA sits beside Jebel Ali Port with land and warehouses, and names neither of those two.

Is DAFZA better than JAFZA for exporters?

It depends on how your goods move, not on export status. Air-freighted, high-value, time-sensitive goods favour DAFZA. Containerised bulk favours JAFZA, where customs duty stays suspended on stock held in the zone until it enters the mainland. Both hold identical Designated Zone status.

Which zone is better for air cargo?

DAFZA, on infrastructure, because it sits inside the Dubai International Airport cargo compound with Dubai Customs in Building 8E. Jafza's own list carries air-cargo entries such as 630105 Air Cargo Services, so the difference is adjacency, not licensing.

Which zone is better for sea freight or bulk goods?

JAFZA, on infrastructure, because it adjoins Jebel Ali Port, which handled 15.6 million TEU in 2025 against roughly 19.4 million TEU of capacity. DAFZ's register does carry sea-named activities such as 5224-002 Sea cargo services.

Is DAFZA a Designated Zone for VAT?

Yes. Dubai Airport Free Zone appears on the Federal Tax Authority's Designated Zones list under Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017 as amended, as Dubai entry number 7, alongside the DAFZA Industrial Park at Al Qusais.

Is JAFZA a Designated Zone for VAT?

Yes. Jebel Ali Free Zone North-South is Dubai entry number 1 on the Federal Tax Authority's Designated Zones list, effective 1 January 2018. The status is identical to DAFZA's, so VAT is not a point of difference.

Does a DAFZA or JAFZA company pay 0% corporate tax?

Only if it is a Qualifying Free Zone Person carrying on a Qualifying Activity. Distribution in or from a Designated Zone qualifies under Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, but only where the buyer resells, processes or alters the goods.

Does a business-to-consumer seller get 0% tax at either zone?

No. Transactions with natural persons are an Excluded Activity, and qualifying distribution requires a buyer who resells or processes the goods. A direct-to-consumer seller gets no corporate tax advantage from any Designated Zone.

Does JAFZA have a General Trading activity?

Not by name. Jafza's own licence activity list contains 1,435 activities and none is called General Trading. Broad trading is reached through the trading licence classification, while DAFZ lists General Trading directly as activity 4690-018.

Do JAFZA's Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 trading classifications exist?

They appeared on Jafza's business licence page when BusinessDubai.ae read it in September 2026: up to seven activities in one group, up to twelve across two or more, unlimited across three or more. An August 2026 read did not find them, so confirm in writing.

Does either zone have a customs broker activity?

DAFZ does, as 5229-004 Customs broker. Jafza's activity list has no entry of that name, the nearest being 630101 Freight Clearing Services and 630102 Cargo Loading & Unloading Services. If clients buy customs brokerage by name, that difference shows on your licence and in your bank file.

Do DAFZA and JAFZA both offer 100% foreign ownership?

Yes, at both zones, and it has been standard for decades, so it is not a point of difference. Since Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020 and No. 32 of 2021 it is also available for most mainland activities, which removes it as a reason to pick a free zone at all.

How many activities does each zone offer?

Jafza's licence activity list carries 1,435 activities across 123 groups, split into Services, Industrial and Trading. DAFZ's ISIC Activity List 2025 carries 2,044, with 968 under Manufacturing and 72 under Transportation and storage.

How many visas can a JAFZA company get?

Jafza's own guide, dated September 2021, states two visas per workstation, a showroom cap of five regardless of size, and an initial allocation of twenty on a leased land plot. Office and warehouse quota scales with area, no ratio published.

How many visas can a DAFZA company get?

DAFZA does not publish a square metre per visa ratio. Third-party sources state one visa per 8.33 square metres and one per 9, and they disagree. Neither figure comes from DAFZA, so confirm the ratio in writing before signing a lease.

What is the minimum share capital for a JAFZA company?

Jafza prescribes none, stating only that capital must suit the licensed activities. The AED 1,000,000 and AED 100,000 figures still circulating on directory sites are stale, removed in 2017.

What is the minimum share capital for a DAFZA company?

AED 1 for an FZCO, 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 issued and allotted, and a branch needs none.

Can I still register an FZE at DAFZA or JAFZA?

At Jafza, yes: the FZE with a single shareholder remains one of its five structures. At DAFZA, no: the DIEZ Implementing Regulations 2023 state that all FZEs are considered to be FZCOs.

Does JAFZA offer a public limited company?

Yes. Jafza lists a PLC as one of five structures, requiring two or more shareholders and a listing on an exchange. DAFZA's PLC needs AED 250,000 of capital instead.

How long does JAFZA registration take?

Jafza states 3 to 14 business days once documents are complete, with an active lease required before registration finishes. That window covers registration only, so the facility selection and the visa sequence set your real trading date.

How long does DAFZA company setup take?

DAFZA publishes no processing guarantee. Its registrar filing confirms a three-step process of choosing the licence, the company type and the space, with no day count. Third-party estimates run from ten business days to four weeks.

Which banks accept JAFZA and DAFZA companies?

WIO and Mashreq open most readily for free zone companies at both zones, and DAFZ's own guide names seven banks at the zone including Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank. No UAE account opens fully remotely.

What happens if goods move between JAFZA and DAFZA?

A transfer between two Designated Zones 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 financial guarantee.

Can a DAFZA or JAFZA company sell to UAE mainland clients?

You can invoice 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 a taxable import.

Can either zone's 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, and relief runs for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 under Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026.

Is DAFZA or JAFZA worth it compared with a cheaper Dubai free zone?

Only if you need customs-controlled space or Designated Zone goods treatment. Dubai South holds the same status through Dubai Aviation City at AED 12,500 licence only. For a business with no goods, neither zone earns its premium.

References

[1] Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza). Business License page: licence categories, the trading classifications read in September 2026, and the AED 5,000 licence floor. jafza.ae

[2] UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. Registrars Company, DAFZA entry: legal forms, licensing procedure and the "fees and taxes by service: N/A" field. moet.gov.ae

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

[4] Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza). Company Formation page: five legal forms including the PLC, no prescribed share capital, and registration in 3 to 14 business days against an active lease. jafza.ae

[5] Federal Tax Authority. Designated Zones list under Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2017 as amended, naming Jebel Ali Free Zone North-South as Dubai entry 1 and Dubai Airport Free Zone as entry 7. tax.gov.ae

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

[7] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025: Article 2(1)(l) buyer conditions, Article 2(1)(m) logistics, de minimis and loss of status. mof.gov.ae

[8] Federal Tax Authority. Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022: 0% to AED 375,000, 9% above, and the AED 10,000 late registration penalty. tax.gov.ae

[9] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023 as amended by No. 131 of 2026: Small Business Relief to 31 December 2029. mof.gov.ae

[10] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025: audited statements above AED 50,000,000, or at any revenue for a Qualifying Free Zone Person. mof.gov.ae

[11] Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza). Employee visa guide, dated 29 September 2021: two visas per workstation, a showroom cap of five, an initial land plot allocation of twenty. jafza.ae

[12] DP World. "JAFZA turns 40 with record USD 190bn in trade", May 2025: 15.536 million TEU in 2024, 15.6 million in 2025, more than 100 berths and 25 kilometres of quay. dpworld.com

[13] DP World. Jebel Ali Port page, undated: 27 berths, 101 quay cranes and 5,000 metres of quay, conflicting with the dated May 2025 release. dpworld.com

[14] Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza). Solutions page: land plots, warehouses of 325 to 2,475 square metres, offices, accommodation, and no published rate. jafza.ae

[15] Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. Implementing Regulations 2023: FZCO capital of AED 1, PLC capital of AED 250,000, and all FZEs treated as FZCOs. dso.ae

[16] Dubai Airport Freezone. DAFZ Essentials guide, January 2026: no fee table, the banks at the zone, and the Dubai Customs office at Building 8E. dafz.ae

[17] BusinessDubai.ae. Internal data since 2013: the normalised Jafza register of 1,435 activities across 123 groups, the DAFZ register comparison, 2026 package pricing by visa count, and the case studies above. businessdubai.ae