Lists the administrative penalties for corporate tax violations: AED 10,000 for failing to keep records (AED 20,000 on repeat), AED 500 per month rising to AED 1,000 for late returns, and, since Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024 took effect on 1 March 2024, AED 10,000 for late tax registration.
Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 is the penalty table for corporate tax. It lists, in a single annexed table of fourteen items, the administrative penalties the Federal Tax Authority imposes for breaches of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and the Tax Procedures Law in relation to corporate tax. It took effect on 1 August 2023 and was amended by Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024, effective 1 March 2024, which added item 14: a fixed AED 10,000 penalty for failing to apply for corporate tax registration within the FTA's deadline. Article 2 makes this table, not Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017, the source of corporate tax penalties.
The record-keeping penalties mirror the VAT regime: AED 10,000 for failing to keep the records the tax laws require, AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months, and AED 5,000 for not providing Arabic versions of tax records on request. Failing to notify the FTA of changes to tax record information costs AED 1,000, or AED 5,000 on repeat within 24 months. Late deregistration costs AED 1,000 per month up to AED 10,000. A legal representative who does not notify its appointment in time pays AED 1,000 from its own funds.
Late filing is charged monthly rather than as a fixed amount: AED 500 for each month or part month for the first twelve months and AED 1,000 per month from the thirteenth month onwards, counted from the day after the filing deadline. The same scale applies to a legal representative who files late (from its own funds) and, under item 13, to the late submission of a declaration required by the Corporate Tax Law, which Article 1 defines as the declarations under Article 53(5) and (6) and Article 55(1) on unincorporated partnerships and transfer pricing. Article 3 fixes the monthly charging date where a month has no corresponding day.
Late payment costs 14% per annum, charged monthly for each month or part month on the unpaid tax from the day after the due date; for a voluntary disclosure or tax assessment the due date is 20 business days from submission or receipt. An incorrect return costs AED 500 unless corrected before the filing deadline. A voluntary disclosure under Article 10 of the Tax Procedures Law costs 1% per month on the tax difference from the return due date until disclosure; failing to disclose before an audit notice costs a fixed 15% of the tax difference plus 1% per month until the disclosure or the assessment. Obstructing a tax auditor costs AED 20,000, payable from the own funds of the person, representative or tax agent responsible.
Every taxable person for corporate tax, including mainland and free zone companies, foreign companies managed and controlled in the UAE, non-residents with a permanent establishment or nexus, natural persons carrying on business above the registration threshold, and their legal representatives and tax agents.
| Article 2 | The administrative penalties in the annexed table apply to violations related to the Corporate Tax Law, notwithstanding Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017. |
| Article 3 | For the monthly penalties in items 3, 6, 7, 8 and 13, where a month has no corresponding date the penalty falls on the last day of that month; otherwise it recurs on the date it was first imposed. |
| Table, items 1–2 | AED 10,000 for failing to keep the records required by the Tax Procedures Law and the Corporate Tax Law, AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months; AED 5,000 for failing to provide tax data, records and documents in Arabic when requested. |
| Table, items 3–5 | AED 1,000 per month up to AED 10,000 for a late deregistration application; AED 1,000 (AED 5,000 on repeat within 24 months) for not informing the FTA of changes to tax record information; AED 1,000 from a legal representative's own funds for late notification of appointment. |
| Table, items 6–7 | A late corporate tax return costs AED 500 for each month or part month for the first twelve months and AED 1,000 per month from the thirteenth month, from the day after the filing deadline; a legal representative who files late pays the same from its own funds. |
| Table, item 8 | Unpaid tax accrues a monthly penalty of 14% per annum for each month or part month from the day after the due date; for voluntary disclosures and assessments the due date is 20 business days from submission or receipt. |
| Table, items 9–11 | AED 500 for an incorrect return unless corrected before the filing deadline; 1% per month on the tax difference for a voluntary disclosure; a fixed 15% plus 1% per month on the tax difference where no disclosure is made before an audit notification. |
| Table, item 12 | AED 20,000 for a person under audit, its tax agent or legal representative failing to facilitate the tax auditor under Article 20 of the Tax Procedures Law, payable from their own funds. |
| Table, item 13 | Late or missing declarations required by the Corporate Tax Law (Article 53(5) and (6) and Article 55(1)) cost AED 500 per month for twelve months and AED 1,000 per month thereafter. |
| Table, item 14 | AED 10,000 for failing to submit a tax registration application within the FTA's timeframe; added by Cabinet Decision No. 10 of 2024 with effect from 1 March 2024. |
The decision is itself the corporate tax penalty schedule: fixed amounts of AED 500 to AED 20,000 for procedural breaches, AED 10,000 for late registration, AED 500 then AED 1,000 per month for late returns and declarations, 14% per annum monthly on late-paid tax, 1% per month on voluntarily disclosed tax differences, and 15% plus 1% per month on differences found on audit without disclosure. Penalties are in addition to the tax and are objected to under the Tax Procedures Law.
The AED 10,000 registration penalty added in March 2024 is the one we quote most often, because it attaches to every company we incorporate from the day its three-month registration window closes, and the FTA applies it automatically. We therefore file the corporate tax registration in the post-incorporation pack for mainland and free zone clients alike. For existing clients the monthly late-filing scale matters more than it looks: a return nine months late costs AED 4,500, and a return left unfiled for two years costs AED 18,000 before any tax. We also use item 13 to remind unincorporated partnerships and groups with transfer pricing obligations that their declarations carry the same monthly charge as a return. When a client discovers an error we model the 1% per month disclosure cost against the 15% fixed penalty that applies once an audit notice arrives, and we handle the reconsideration request when a penalty has been wrongly applied.
Corporate Tax Law
Imposes federal corporate tax on the taxable income of UAE companies and businesses at 0% up to a Cabinet-set threshold and 9% above it, with 0% on the qualifying income …
Corporate Tax Registration Timeline Decision
Sets the deadlines for corporate tax registration: existing resident companies by dates tied to the month their licence was issued, newly incorporated resident juridical …
Tax Procedures Law
The common procedural code for all federal taxes: registration, record keeping, returns, voluntary disclosures, FTA audits and assessments, tax agents, administrative pen…
Tax Procedures Executive Regulation
Implements the Tax Procedures Law: which accounting records must be kept and for how long (generally five years, seven for real estate records), form and language of docu…
Tax Penalties Decision (VAT, Excise, Procedures)
Sets in three tables the fixed and percentage-based administrative penalties the FTA imposes for breaches of the Tax Procedures Law, the Excise Tax Law and the VAT Law, s…
Whether you are establishing a new venture, restructuring an existing enterprise, or exploring residency pathways — we are here to advise.
Arrange a Consultation →