Dubai Business Licence Amendment: The Complete Process, and the Two Deadlines Nobody Mentions

A Dubai licence amendment is any formal change to what your trade licence records: activities, trade name, shareholders and share split, manager or authorised signatory, legal form, registered address, or capital. You file it with the Department of Economy and Tourism or with your free zone, and the authority issues an addendum to the licence and, where relevant, to the memorandum of association.

Here is the part almost nobody writes about. An amendment is two obligations running on two separate clocks. The licensing side is one. The second is the Federal Tax Authority, which requires a taxable person to notify it of changes to registered details, including trade name, principal place of business, primary business activity, trade licence renewals and amendments, and authorised signatory details, within 20 business days of the change [1]. Late notification carries an administrative penalty under Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 [1]. The FTA ran a grace period from 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2025 waiving penalties for correcting outdated records. That window has closed.

This guide covers both clocks, the process by amendment type, the free zone fee schedules that are actually published, and one tax question no competing article connects to amendments: adding the wrong activity to a free zone licence can put your Qualifying Free Zone Person status at risk. It is a guide, not legal or tax advice.

What counts as a licence amendment in Dubai?

Any change to the information printed on the licence or recorded in the memorandum of association. DET's service covers amendment of partners, change of location, change of manager, modification of business activities, capital change and amendment of trade name, with an addendum generated against the licence and the MOA.

The types differ far more than the single-line fee tables online suggest. Some are administrative record edits. Others need a notarised MOA amendment signed by every partner, a regulator's approval obtained before you file, or a fresh initial approval.

Real Talk: "licence amendment" flattens seven different transactions into one word. DMCC and JAFZA price them separately, by a factor of three in DMCC's case, which tells you the zones do not treat them as one thing. Any article quoting a single flat fee across all of them has not read a real schedule.

Why is a licence amendment really two deadlines?

Because the licensing authority and the tax authority are different regulators with different records. DET or your free zone updates the licence. The FTA does not learn about it automatically. You notify the FTA separately, within 20 business days of the change, and the penalty for missing that sits under Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 [1].

This is the biggest omission in competing content. Search "Dubai licence amendment" and you get the licensing steps, a fee figure, and an end. The tax notification is absent, or mentioned with no deadline attached. It has one, it is short, and it is counted in business days.

Sequencing matters. The clock runs from the change, so if the amendment takes three weeks at the licensing authority and you only then think about the FTA, you may already be behind.

Common Mistake: assuming your PRO handled the FTA side because they handled the licence side. Those are frequently different scopes and different logins. Ask in writing before filing, and get confirmation of the EmaraTax submission rather than a verbal assurance.

What exactly do you have to tell the FTA, and how?

The FTA's tax records amendment service covers changes to a taxable person's registered details. The categories overlapping most with a licence amendment are business or trading name, principal place of business address, primary business activity, trade licence renewals and amendments, and authorised signatory details, each notifiable within 20 business days [1].

Map that against the amendment table above and the overlap is close to total.

The mechanics run through EmaraTax, where you amend the registration record and upload the reissued licence or addendum as evidence. Our guide to the EmaraTax portal covers the account structure and the amendment flow.

One figure we deliberately will not print: an AED amount for the late-notification penalty. The FTA page references Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 as the source but does not state the amount [1], and we will not lift a number from a secondary blog and call it official. The right response is not to price the penalty. It is to file inside 20 business days.

Can amending a free zone licence break your 0% tax status?

Possibly, and this is the question to settle before you file. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 sets out a closed list of Qualifying Activities for Qualifying Free Zone Person status [2]. Adding an activity outside that list means income from it is not qualifying income, which is a live risk to your 0% treatment on that stream.

Be clear about what this is. No FTA page says "adding an activity breaks QFZP status", and we will not pretend otherwise. What exists is a closed list, and under a closed list an activity that is not on it is not qualifying. A licence amendment is precisely the act of putting a new activity onto your licence. That is a direct reading, and it belongs in front of a tax adviser before the amendment goes in.

Pro Tip: ask it in this exact shape, because it is answerable. "If I add activity X to this free zone licence, is income from X qualifying income under Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, and if not, what does that do to my qualifying income position overall?" Fifteen minutes before you file, or a very expensive conversation in your first audit. Our guide to the Qualifying Free Zone Person and the 0% rate sets out the full condition set.

Nobody connects amendments to QFZP status, which is why founders add a general trading line to a specialised licence for sensible commercial reasons and meet the tax consequence at year end. The reason is usually good. The sequence is what goes wrong. Talk to a setup expert→ before the activity goes on the licence.

What happens if you do lose Qualifying Free Zone Person status?

You are taxed as an ordinary taxable person on that income: 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above it. For many small free zone companies the cash difference is modest. Small Business Relief under Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023, as amended by Ministerial Decision 131 of 2026 may also be available, with its own conditions and its own end date [3].

The relief applies where revenue is at or below AED 3,000,000 in the relevant and previous tax periods, and continues only for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026 [3][4]. That sunset is close enough now that it should not underpin a structure you plan to run for years.

Based on our experience: the founders who handle this well decide, before amending, whether the new activity belongs on the free zone licence at all. Often the cleaner answer is a second entity or a mainland licence for the new line. Our article on running two businesses in Dubai covers when a second entity beats an amendment, and our mainland company setup desk handles that side.

What does a DET licence amendment actually cost?

We do not know, and we will not guess. DET publishes its fees, but its portal blocks automated access, so we could not verify one against a primary source. We will not print a DET amendment fee we could not verify, and neither should anyone else. Check the live figure on the DET portal or the DubaiNow app.

Here is what happened when we tried. dubaidet.gov.ae and invest.dubai.ae both returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch. dubaided.gov.ae refused the connection. Dubai Courts at dc.gov.ae was unreachable to non-browser clients. DIFC's site rate-limited at 429. None of that is evidence the fee pages do not exist. They are bot blocks, and the pages are almost certainly there and correct in a browser. It does mean we cannot stand behind a number we could not read.

Four figures circulate constantly across Dubai setup blogs, and not one traces back to a reachable primary DET page:

Budgeting off a blog figure and meeting the real cost at submission is the predictable outcome. The fee is rarely the expensive part anyway. Notarisation, translation, a regulator's approval that takes weeks, and in some cases paying a licence fee again, are.

Real Talk: several private PRO firms run government-looking domains that are not government sites. They rank well, use official-looking crests and colours, and charge a margin on a fee you could pay directly. Transact through dubaidet.gov.ae, invest.dubai.ae or the DubaiNow app, and treat any other domain as a private company until proven otherwise. That is not an argument against using an adviser, only against being unclear who you are paying.

What does DMCC charge to amend a licence?

DMCC publishes its schedule of charges, so these are confirmed rather than inferred. Most single-field amendments sit at AED 1,515 per request, while anything touching shares, capital or the registered company name jumps to AED 4,515 [5]. Add AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation Dirham per transaction.

The three-tier structure is informative. DMCC prices record edits at one level, shareholder-identity corrections at another, and anything altering legal ownership or the registered name at a third. That is a fair proxy for how much scrutiny each type attracts anywhere, mainland included.

DMCC states processing at 2 business days, excluding time taken for an Operational Fitness Certificate where one is required [6]. Watch that exclusion, because an inspection requirement turns a two-day amendment into a two-week one. Our DMCC free zone setup guide covers the zone's wider fee structure.

What does JAFZA charge, and why does timing decide the bill?

JAFZA prices activity amendments in tiers by licence type and activity group, from AED 5,000 to AED 30,000, plus AED 500 per additional activity beyond the group cap [7]. Processing is 3 working days [7]. The far bigger variable is when you file, because amending mid-licence can mean paying the licence fee again [8].

Now the trap, and it is JAFZA's own published position rather than anything we inferred. Amending during an active licence period requires paying the full licence fee again. Amending at renewal costs the licence fee you were paying anyway plus a flat AED 500 amendment charge [8]. Same amendment, two very different bills, decided by the date on the application.

Quick Math: a JAFZA trading company with seven months left wants a second activity group. Filed now: AED 8,500 for the two-group amendment, plus the entire licence fee a second time, and the licence fee is the largest line on a JAFZA invoice. Filed at renewal: the renewal fee already budgeted, plus AED 500. The saving is the whole duplicated licence fee, for the price of waiting [8].

Run that calculation before anything else in JAFZA. If a signed contract depends on the activity, file now and accept the cost. If it is preparatory, put it in the renewal file. Our JAFZA free zone setup guide covers the licence types and activity groups, and our free zone company setup page compares zones on total cost of ownership rather than headline price.

How do you change your trade name?

You reserve the new name, pay the reservation, and the authority issues an addendum to the licence and the MOA. The reservation is the gate. Dubai's naming rules are strict and applications are rejected on them regularly, so the name is checked before the rest of the file moves.

The rules that catch people are consistent. No religious or divine references. No names of rulers or government bodies. Nothing offensive to public decency, culture or religion. The name must be unique and not confusable with a registered name or trademark.

Common Mistake: printing stationery and invoicing under the new name before the reissued licence arrives. Until the licence and addendum are issued, the old name is still your legal name, and documents in the new name are documents of an entity that does not yet exist under it.

One point we will not state either way: whether the authority retains or releases your old trade name. You will find confident claims in both directions. We could not confirm either on a primary page, and the answer matters if you want to hold the old name defensively. Ask when you file.

How do you add or remove a business activity?

You select the activity from the authority's own activity list, and where it is regulated you obtain the regulator's no-objection certificate first. That sequence is not optional. Filing a regulated activity without the NOC produces a rejection, not a conditional approval, and you restart the file.

The regulator, not the licensing authority, controls the timeline for regulated activities. This is where "adding an activity is a same-day formality" collapses. It is reportedly three to four weeks for a KHDA-regulated education or training activity.

That last row deserves its own sentence, because the confusion is real and repeated. The Dubai Financial Services Authority regulates DIFC and only DIFC. A DIFC entity amending a financial services licence does not go through DET at all, and a DET mainland company does not need DFSA approval. Articles listing DFSA alongside DHA and KHDA as mainland regulators are mixing two jurisdictions.

Check the category question too. Where the new activity sits in a different licence category from your existing one, a second licence may be the right instrument instead of an amendment.

How do you change shareholders, the share split, or the manager?

Through a notarised amendment to the memorandum of association, plus a share transfer agreement where ownership moves. Notarisation runs through the Dubai Courts Notary Public or the Smart eNotary e-service. A shareholder who cannot attend may act through a notarised power of attorney that expressly authorises signature of the MOA amendment.

POA wording is where these files stall. A general POA that does not specifically authorise signing an MOA amendment is frequently rejected, and an overseas shareholder's POA usually needs attestation and legalisation first. That runs in weeks, in another country, so build it into the timeline early.

Manager and signatory changes belong here for a structural reason. In an LLC the manager is normally named in the MOA, so changing the manager is not a licence field edit but an MOA amendment, pulling in the same notarisation. We flag that as inference from how the MOA is constructed, not a quoted rule, so check your own MOA first.

One question we could not settle: whether an NOC from existing partners or from DET is required for a share transfer. Sources assert both positions, so we assert neither. Ask when you open the file, and get the answer in writing.

Pro Tip: if a share transfer, a manager change and an activity addition are all due in the same year, ask whether they can be filed as one amendment file rather than three. Where they can, you consolidate the notarisation appointments and document set into one cycle. Our post-setup services team runs these as a single project for that reason.

Can you change your company's legal form with an amendment?

Not as a field edit. A legal form change is closer to a new incorporation. It typically means fresh initial approval, a new MOA signed and notarised by all partners in person or by valid POA, and in many cases cancellation of the existing licence and issue of a new one rather than an addendum.

That difference drives everything downstream. A cancelled and reissued licence is a different licence, which raises questions about bank accounts opened against the old one, contracts naming the old entity, tax registration details and immigration files. None of those carry over automatically.

Which brings up the most consequential open question here. Several sources claim converting your legal form forces cancellation and reissue of every employee visa tied to the old entity. No GDRFA or MOHRE source confirms this, and we will not assert it. Nor will we dismiss it, because if it holds for your case the cost and disruption are large enough to change whether the conversion is worth doing.

Real Talk: put the visa question first on the conversion checklist, not last. Ask GDRFA directly, or a licensed PRO who has processed a conversion with staff on the establishment card, before you spend anything on initial approval. If visas must be cancelled and reissued, you need to know while the plan is still reversible, and to price the residency gap for every employee rather than just the fee.

What happens when you change your registered address?

The address on the licence must match a valid tenancy, and on the mainland the proof the authority works from is Ejari. A move means a new or updated Ejari registration before or alongside the amendment. Free zone companies use the zone-issued facility agreement instead, which the zone controls directly.

Two consequences follow, and both cost money when missed. The first is timing: an expired Ejari is reported to block licence renewal and amendment processing because the systems are linked. We label that secondary-sourced and directionally credible rather than confirmed, but it fits how the mainland file is assembled. Our guide to Ejari registration for commercial tenancies covers renewal and amendment mechanics.

The second is visa quota. Quota is tied to the licence's premises, so a smaller office can shrink the number of visas you can sponsor and a larger one can grow it. The directional point is safe. The specific "one visa per 9 square metres" formula is a widely cited industry rule of thumb, and we could not find it on any GDRFA or DET page, so do not budget headcount against it as though it were official.

Check the FTA side of an address change specifically. Principal place of business is on the notifiable list, so a move starts the 20-business-day clock in its own right [1]. Address changes are the amendment people most often forget to report, because they feel administrative rather than legal.

Which licence amendment myths should you ignore?

Six recur constantly, and three cost money. The most expensive is believing the licensing amendment is the whole obligation. The most common is the AED 500 fee. The most damaging to a growth plan is assuming any activity can be added in a day.

The FTA myth is the one to fix today if you amended anything last month. The rest cost a delay or a rework. That one accrues a penalty under Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 you did not know you were accruing [1].

Real Client Stories

Real examples from businesses we have helped, with details changed for privacy.

The JAFZA logistics operator who waited five months. A Bangalore-based logistics operator wanted a second activity group for a warehousing line planned for the following year. Filing straight away meant the AED 8,500 two-group amendment plus the entire licence fee a second time, five months before renewal [8]. The contract driving the change was unsigned, so nothing was blocked. We put the amendment into the renewal file instead: renewal fee plus a flat AED 500 [8]. Waiting cost nothing operationally and removed a duplicated licence fee from the budget.

The consultancy that nearly broke its own 0% position. A two-founder studio from Manchester on a specialist free zone licence asked us to add general trading so they could resell hardware alongside their service work. The activity sat outside the closed Qualifying Activities list in Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 [2], which put the treatment of that income in question. We stopped the filing and sent them to their tax adviser with the question framed precisely. They put the resale line into a separate mainland entity and left the free zone licence untouched.

The address change that produced a penalty nobody expected. A trading company moved to a larger unit, registered the new Ejari and had the licence amended without difficulty. Nobody notified the FTA. Principal place of business is notifiable, the 20-business-day window ran from the date of the change rather than the licence reissue, and the grace period covering this kind of correction closed on 31 March 2025 [1]. The licence work was flawless. The exposure came entirely from the clock nobody had mentioned.

The short version

Run the amendment as two projects opened the same day. Project one is the licensing file: the correct amendment type, the regulator's NOC first where the activity is regulated, notarisation where the MOA is touched, a valid Ejari where the address moves, and a written fee quote rather than a figure from a blog. Project two is the FTA notification, filed inside 20 business days of the change itself [1].

Before either starts, ask two questions. In a free zone, does the new activity sit inside the closed Qualifying Activities list in Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, and if not, what does that do to your qualifying income [2]. And is there a renewal close enough that bundling the amendment saves a duplicated licence fee, as JAFZA's schedule makes possible [8].

Since 2013, BusinessDubai has completed 700+ company registrations across the UAE, plus the amendment work that follows: activity additions, share transfers, name changes, address moves and legal form conversions, with the tax notification handled in the same file. We will tell you when an amendment is the wrong instrument and a second licence is the right one, run the filing through our free zone company setup or mainland company setup desks, and keep the compliance calendar through our post-setup services team. Talk to a setup expert→ before you file, not after.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Dubai trade licence amendment?

Any formal change to the information on your licence or in your memorandum of association: activities, trade name, partners and share split, manager, legal form, registered address or capital. The authority issues an addendum to the licence and, where relevant, the MOA reflecting the change.

How long do I have to tell the FTA about a licence amendment?

Twenty business days from the change. The Federal Tax Authority requires notification of changes to registered details including business name, principal place of business, primary activity, trade licence renewals and amendments, and authorised signatory details within that window [1]. Business days, not calendar days.

Does the FTA find out automatically when DET updates my licence?

No. They are separate authorities holding separate records, and the tax notification does not follow automatically from the licence update. You submit it yourself through EmaraTax, amending the registration record and uploading the reissued licence or addendum as supporting evidence, inside the 20-business-day window [1].

What is the penalty for notifying the FTA late?

An administrative penalty under Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 [1]. We are not publishing an AED figure, because the FTA page references the Cabinet Decision without stating the amount, and we will not lift a number from a secondary source and present it as official.

Is there still a grace period for updating tax records?

No. The FTA ran a grace period from 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2025 that waived penalties for correcting outdated registration records. That window has closed, so any amendment made today falls under the standard 20-business-day notification rule with its normal penalty exposure [1].

How much does DET charge to amend a licence?

We are not printing a figure. DET publishes its fees, but its portal blocks automated access, so we could not verify an amendment fee against a primary source. Check the live figure on the DET portal, Invest in Dubai or the DubaiNow app, and get a written quote.

Is the AED 500 DET amendment fee real?

It may be accurate, but it traces to no reachable primary government page. The same applies to the AED 620 trade name reservation figure and the AED 1,000 to AED 3,000 per activity range. Treat all of them as unverified until you see a quote.

What does DMCC charge for a licence amendment?

Most single-field amendments are AED 1,515 per request, covering activity amendment or addition, operating name change, address amendment and change of manager. Share transfer, capital changes and company name changes are AED 4,515, plus AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation Dirham per transaction [5].

How long does a DMCC amendment take?

DMCC states 2 business days, excluding the time taken for an Operational Fitness Certificate where one is required [6]. Watch that exclusion, because an inspection requirement can turn a two-day amendment into a two-week one, and it is the single most common reason a DMCC timeline slips.

What does JAFZA charge to amend activities?

Tiers from AED 5,000 to AED 30,000 by licence type and activity group. Trading or Industrial is AED 5,000 for one group and AED 8,500 for two. Service-General Trading is AED 5,000, Service-Logistics AED 15,000 and Service-Holding AED 30,000, plus AED 500 per additional activity beyond the group cap [7].

Why is JAFZA cheaper if I amend at renewal?

Because amending during an active licence period requires paying the full licence fee again, while amending at renewal costs the licence fee you already owed plus a flat AED 500 amendment charge [8]. Same amendment, very different bill, decided by the filing date.

How long does a JAFZA amendment take?

Three working days on JAFZA's published guidance [7]. As with DMCC, that covers only the zone's own processing. It excludes the time spent obtaining any external approvals, assembling notarised documents, or waiting for a renewal date if you are bundling the amendment to avoid a duplicated licence fee [8].

Can adding an activity break my free zone 0% tax status?

It can put it at risk. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 sets a closed list of Qualifying Activities, so an activity outside that list is not a Qualifying Activity and income from it is not qualifying income [2]. Put the question to a tax adviser before you file.

Is there an FTA rule saying amendments break QFZP status?

No, and we will not imply there is. This is a direct reading of a closed list, not a quoted rule about amendments. That is exactly why it deserves raising with an adviser in advance rather than assuming either outcome.

What happens if I lose Qualifying Free Zone Person status?

You are taxed as an ordinary taxable person on that income: 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income, then 9%. Small Business Relief may also apply where revenue is at or below AED 3,000,000, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 [3][4].

When does Small Business Relief end?

It applies only to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 under Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023, as amended by Ministerial Decision 131 of 2026 [3][4]. That is close enough now that it should not be the basis of a structure you plan to run for several more years.

Do I need a regulator's approval before adding an activity?

For regulated activities, yes, and it comes first. DHA for healthcare, KHDA for education and training, RERA for real estate brokerage, Dubai Municipality for food and environmental activities. Filing without the NOC produces a rejection rather than a conditional approval.

Does DFSA approve mainland activity amendments?

No. The Dubai Financial Services Authority regulates DIFC and only DIFC. A DIFC entity's financial services amendment does not go through DET at all, and a DET mainland company does not need DFSA approval. Articles listing DFSA as a mainland regulator conflate two jurisdictions.

How long does adding a regulated activity take?

Longer than founders expect, because the regulator controls the clock rather than the licensing authority. KHDA education and training approvals are reportedly three to four weeks, and health and real estate activities run their own cycles. Unregulated activities in the same licence category move considerably faster than that.

Can I use my new trade name before the licence is reissued?

No. Until the reissued licence and addendum are physically in hand, your legal name is still the old one. Invoices, contracts and bank instructions issued in the new name are documents of an entity that does not yet exist under that name, which creates problems you do not want.

What are the trade name rules in Dubai?

No religious or divine references, no ruler or government body names, nothing offensive to public decency, culture or religion, and the name must be unique and not confusable with a registered name or trademark. Reservation is the gate the rest of the file waits behind.

Does DET keep my old trade name after a change?

We could not confirm it either way on a primary page, and you will find confident claims in both directions. If holding the old name defensively matters, or a competitor taking it would hurt, ask the authority directly when you file.

How do I change shareholders on a Dubai licence?

Through a notarised MOA amendment plus a share transfer agreement, executed at the Dubai Courts Notary Public or through the Smart eNotary e-service. A shareholder unable to attend may act via a notarised power of attorney expressly authorising signature of the MOA amendment.

Do I need an NOC from my existing partners for a share transfer?

Sources assert both positions and we could not confirm either on a reachable primary page, so we assert neither. Ask the licensing authority when you open the file, get the answer in writing rather than verbally, and build any NOC step into the timeline before you commit to a completion date.

Does changing the manager require an MOA amendment?

Probably, because in an LLC the manager is normally named in the MOA, which would pull in notarisation. We flag that as inference from the MOA's structure rather than a quoted rule, so check your own MOA before planning the timeline.

Can I change my company's legal form by amendment?

Not as a field edit. A legal form change typically means fresh initial approval, a new MOA signed and notarised by all partners in person or by valid POA, and often cancellation of the existing licence and issue of a new one rather than an addendum.

Does changing legal form cancel my employees' visas?

Several sources claim it does, but no GDRFA or MOHRE source confirms it, so we will not assert it. Given the cost involved, put the question to GDRFA or a licensed PRO before spending anything on the conversion, while the plan is still reversible.

Do I need a new Ejari to change my registered address?

On the mainland, yes. Ejari is the proof of address the licensing authority works from, so a move means a new or updated registration before or alongside the amendment. Free zone companies use the zone-issued facility agreement instead, which the zone administers directly rather than through Ejari.

Does an expired Ejari block a licence amendment?

It is reported to block both renewal and amendment processing because the systems are linked. We label that secondary-sourced rather than confirmed, but it fits how the mainland file is assembled, and renewing the Ejari is trivial next to the delay.

Will moving office change my visa quota?

Directionally yes, because quota is tied to the licence's premises. The specific one visa per 9 square metres formula is a widely cited industry rule of thumb we could not find on any GDRFA or DET page, so confirm your actual quota before signing a lease.

References

[1] Federal Tax Authority. Amendment of Tax Records. The requirement to notify the FTA of changes to a taxable person's registered details, including business or trading name, principal place of business address, primary business activity, trade licence renewals and amendments and authorised signatory details, within 20 business days of the change; the administrative penalty under Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017; and the grace period that ran from 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2025. FTA Amendment of Tax Records

[2] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 Regarding Qualifying Activities and Excluded Activities. The closed list of Qualifying Activities for Qualifying Free Zone Person purposes, against which any newly added licence activity has to be tested. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025

[3] Ministry of Finance. Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023, as amended by Ministerial Decision 131 of 2026 on Small Business Relief. The AED 3,000,000 revenue threshold and the limitation of the relief to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. Ministerial Decision No. 73 of 2023, as amended by Ministerial Decision 131 of 2026

[4] Ministry of Finance. Ministry of Finance issues decision on Small Business Relief for corporate tax purposes. The announcement confirming the relief's revenue threshold and availability window. MoF announcement on Small Business Relief

[5] DMCC. Schedule of Charges. Published amendment fees including AED 1,515 for licence activity amendment or addition, operating name change, address amendment and change of manager; AED 4,515 for share transfer, capital changes and company name change; AED 2,015 for changes to shareholder name, nationality or address on legal documents; and AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation Dirham per transaction. DMCC Schedule of Charges

[6] DMCC. Licence Amendment Guidelines. The zone's stated processing time of 2 business days for licence amendments, excluding time required for an Operational Fitness Certificate. DMCC Licence Amendment Guidelines

[7] JAFZA. Licence Activity Amendments. The activity amendment fee tiers from AED 5,000 to AED 30,000 by licence type and activity group, the AED 500 charge per additional activity beyond the group cap, and the stated 3 working day processing time. JAFZA Licence Activity Amendments

[8] JAFZA. Licence Conversion and Amend Activity. The published position that amending during an active licence period requires paying the full licence fee again, while amending at renewal costs the licence fee plus a flat AED 500 amendment charge. JAFZA Licence Conversion and Amend Activity