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Companies in Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and the other DDA business parks file audited accounts within six months of the year end. Each rule below links to DDA's own documents.
The zone · Who it suits · Start a company · Regulations · Audit · Corporate tax · Audit enquiry
The zone
The Dubai Development Authority (DDA) runs one free zone made up of several business parks. The zone was set up under Dubai Law No. 1 of 2000, and the authority took its present name under Law No. 10 of 2018.
Its parks include Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Park, Dubai International Academic City, Dubai Outsource City, Dubai Production City, Dubai Studio City, Dubai Science Park, Dubai Design District and Emirates Towers (DDA Decision No. 1 of 2021).
DDA handles company registration and licensing for these parks, which TECOM Group operates.
Source: DDA, About; DDA Decision No. 1 of 2021 on licence categories; DDA, TECOM Group
Who it suits
Start a company
DDA issues licences by cluster, matched to the business activity. A new business can register as an FZ-LLC, as a branch, or as a freelancer.
We help with the choice of jurisdiction and licence, holding structures and bank account onboarding. Tell us what the company will do and we will come back to you.
Thank you, it has reached the team.
Regulations
Audit
| Who | Every FZ-LLC and branch office prepares and submits audited financial statements and an annual return each financial year (DDA Circular 421, 2022). A branch may submit its parent's consolidated audited accounts, or a stand-alone extract for the branch. |
|---|---|
| Deadline | Within six months of the year end, including the first year end of a new company (Circular 421). |
| How to file | On the AXS portal, with the Financial Statements Report Summary Sheet. A company that filed its accounts on the Economic Substance portal still files them on AXS (Circular 421). |
| Exemption | DDA's regulations and circulars give none. |
| If you do not file | A fine of AED 10,000, doubled if repeated within a year. DDA can also suspend or cancel the licence, deregister the company or apply to court to wind it up (DDA Decision No. 2 of 2017). |
| Auditor | An audit firm with a UAE trade licence, appointed through DDA's Appoint Auditor service. DDA's fines table refers to an approved auditor, but we found no published DDA list (12 November 2026). |
| Standards | Accounts follow the standards the Registrar approves (Private Companies Regulations 2016, Regulation 63.5). DDA defines audited accounts as conforming to IFRS, GAAP or similar international standards (Decision No. 1 of 2021). |
Source: DDA Circular 421; DDA Decision No. 2 of 2017; DCC Private Companies Regulations 2016; DDA, Appoint Auditor
Checked against the sources on 12 November 2026.
Corporate tax
A free zone company pays corporate tax at 0% on its qualifying income if it is a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and at 9% on its other taxable income (Corporate Tax Law, Article 3(2)). To qualify, it must keep adequate substance in the UAE, earn qualifying income, not elect to be taxed at the standard rates, and comply with the transfer pricing rules (Article 18(1)).
It must also keep its non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limits and prepare audited financial statements (Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025, Article 5(1)). A company that fails any condition loses the 0% status for that tax period and the next four (Article 5(2)).
For tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, the audit applies to every Qualifying Free Zone Person, whatever its revenue (Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025, Article 2(1)(b)). More in our UAE corporate tax guide.
Source: Corporate Tax Law; Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025; Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025
Audit enquiry
Our audits are signed by Ministry of Economy registered auditors, registry entry LC4682-01.
Send the company name and its financial year end. We will reply with what the audit needs.
Thank you, it has reached the team.
Other Dubai free zones: DMCC · DIFC · JAFZA · IFZA · Dubai Silicon Oasis · Dubai Airport Freezone · Meydan Free Zone · Dubai South · DWTC Free Zone · Dubai Healthcare City · All Dubai free zones
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