Essential Service
Beyond the trade licence, companies operating in the UAE carry a handful of reporting obligations. Missing them leads directly to administrative penalties.
UBO
The UAE requires registration of ultimate beneficial owners to ensure transparency across mainland and free zone companies. Businesses licensed in certain jurisdictions, and entities owned directly or indirectly by government, are outside this rule.
ESR
The Economic Substance Regulations require companies carrying on relevant activities to maintain real economic presence in the UAE proportionate to what they do here. Scope and periods have changed over time — we assess your position period by period.
The ultimate beneficial owner is the real person behind the company. As a general rule it is whoever holds, directly or indirectly, at least 25% of the shares or voting rights, or who holds the power to appoint and remove directors.
If nobody meets that definition, the person exercising actual control over the company is the UBO; if that too cannot be established, the person responsible for senior management is.
These registers both make the declaration accurate and form part of compliance with commercial companies legislation. Banks look for the same information in their own know-your-customer processes when opening an account.
The main areas treated as "relevant activities" under the Economic Substance Regulations:
Calling the activity something else does not change the outcome; if the function is the same, it is a relevant activity.
The scope changed — let's assess your position
The application of the Economic Substance Regulations was narrowed after the corporate tax regime came into force. For many companies there is now no filing obligation for current periods; missed filings for earlier periods can still carry penalties.
That is why we don't sell ESR as an automatic annual service. We assess first, file if there's an obligation, and tell you if there isn't.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| ESR assessment | AED 525 |
| ESR notification filing | AED 1,050 |
| ESR report filing | AED 1,050 |
| UBO declaration | AED 525 |
All fees are inclusive of 5% VAT.
Prices are indicative. Official fees and free zone tariffs change during the year; the exact figure is confirmed in writing in your quote.
Let's start with the assessment. If there's nothing to file, we won't have you file it.
