Creates the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZA), owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, as legal successor to the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority and Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority, overseeing those zones and granting licensees a renewable 50-year exemption from taxes and capital-transfer restrictions; in force 1 January 2022.
Law No. (16) of 2021 created the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZA), the single authority that now supervises Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai Airport Free Zone and is the legal successor of their former authorities. The Ruler of Dubai issued it on 14 September 2021 and, under Article 34, it came into force on 1 January 2022. Article 33 repeals the Dubai Silicon Oasis law of 2005, the Dubai Airport Free Zone law of 2009 and six related instruments, while keeping the regulations made under them in force until replaced. It remains in force, and the DIEZA Implementing Regulations 2023 are made under it. For IFZA companies, licensed within Dubai Silicon Oasis, this is the statute behind the zone's status.
Article 3 establishes DIEZA as a public authority with legal personality and financial and administrative autonomy, wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Article 4 places Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Airport Free Zone and any zone added by the Ruler under its supervision, and creates within them a Free Zone and an Administrative Zone whose boundaries the Chairman fixes by published resolution. Article 6 gives DIEZA its powers: land allocation, construction licensing, customs-controlled management of fenced zones, rules for authorised activities, registration and licensing of companies, inspection of licensees, fees and borrowing. Articles 7 to 10 provide a Chairman appointed by Ruler's decree and an Executive Chairman who approves the registration and licensing rules.
Articles 14 to 21 carry the free zone privileges. Article 16 exempts goods brought into, made in or stored in the Free Zone from customs duty, with duty on entry to the Dubai customs zone as a first import. Article 17 applies a zero tax rate for 50 years from 1 January 2022, renewable by the Ruler, to licensed establishments in the Free Zone and their employees on all taxes including income tax and on gains from mergers, demergers or changes of legal form, expressly without prejudice to federal tax legislation. Article 18 lifts restrictions on transferring capital, profits and wages abroad, and Article 21 removes DIEZA and its licensees from the authority of Dubai Municipality and the economic department save for health, safety, environment and food control and laws expressly applied to free zones.
Articles 22 to 25 govern establishments: sole proprietorships and companies may be owned by UAE or foreign nationals (Article 22); no activity may be conducted in the Free Zone without a DIEZA licence, with incorporation, registration and liquidation governed by regulations approved by the Chairman (Article 23); the name must end with a free zone indication and legal form on pain of the owner's personal liability (Article 24); and licences cannot be assigned without written approval (Article 25). Article 28 delegates administrative penalties to a Chairman's bylaw, and Article 31 transfers all rights, assets, contracts, licences and staff of the two former authorities to DIEZA.
The Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, its Chairman and Executive Chairman and the companies it owns; the Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai Airport Free Zone areas and any zone the Ruler adds; and every sole proprietorship, company and branch licensed to operate in the Free Zone or the Administrative Zone, including IFZA licensees within Dubai Silicon Oasis, together with their owners and employees.
| Article 3 | Establishes DIEZA as a public authority with legal personality and financial and administrative autonomy, wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. |
| Article 4 | Places Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Airport Free Zone with its amalgamated plots, and any zone added by the Ruler under DIEZA's supervision, and establishes within them a Free Zone and an Administrative Zone whose boundaries the Chairman fixes by published resolution. |
| Article 6 | DIEZA's functions include land allocation and disposal, construction licensing, customs-controlled management of fenced zones, setting the rules for authorised activities, registering and licensing establishments in the Free Zone and the Administrative Zone, inspecting licensees, collecting fees, borrowing and supplying personnel to licensees. |
| Article 16 | Commodities brought into, manufactured or stored in the Free Zone are exempt from customs duties and may be exported outside the UAE duty-free; commodities moved into the Dubai customs zone are treated as first imports and dutiable. |
| Article 17 | Without prejudice to federal tax legislation, licensed establishments in the Free Zone and their employees are subject to a zero tax rate for 50 years from the law's effective date, renewable by the Ruler, on all taxes including income tax, on taxes on transfers of assets, profits and wages, and on gains from mergers, demergers or changes of legal form. |
| Article 18 | DIEZA establishments, Free Zone licensees and their employees are exempt for 50 years from 1 January 2022, renewable, from all restrictions on transferring share capital, profits or wages in any currency to any destination outside the Free Zone. |
| Article 21 | DIEZA and its licensees are not subject, for their Free Zone operations, to the legislation or powers of Dubai Municipality or the economic department, except public health and safety, environment and food control laws and laws expressly applied to free zones. |
| Article 22 | Sole proprietorships and commercial companies are established in DIEZA under its regulations and may be owned by one or more natural or legal persons, whether UAE or non-UAE nationals. |
| Article 23 | No person may conduct any activity in the Free Zone without a DIEZA licence; the incorporation, registration, governing rules and liquidation of establishments, and the licensing of branches, are set by regulations approved by the Chairman. |
| Article 24 | A Free Zone licensee's name must end with a free zone indication and its legal form in all contracts, invoices, advertisements and correspondence; a non-compliant owner is personally liable for the establishment's obligations from all his property. |
| Article 28 | The Chairman issues a bylaw fixing the administrative penalties for breach of the law, its resolutions or licence terms and naming the entity that imposes and enforces them. |
| Article 31 | DIEZA succeeds the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority and the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority in all functions, property, contracts, licences and employees; Dubai Airport Free Zone and Al Qusais Industrial Area continue as VAT designated zones. |
The law contains no fine amounts. Article 28 delegates the administrative penalties for breach of the law, its resolutions or licence terms to a bylaw issued by the Chairman, which also names the enforcing entity, and Article 29 gives nominated DIEZA employees law-enforcement capacity to record violations and call on the police. Article 14 prohibits any activity outside the licence terms or contrary to public order, and Article 24 makes an owner personally liable for the establishment's obligations if its name omits the free zone indication and legal form.
IFZA, where we act as registered agent, operates within Dubai Silicon Oasis, so the IFZA companies we form sit under this law rather than the repealed 2005 Silicon Oasis law, and we cite it when a bank or counterparty asks for the statutory basis of an IFZA licence. The provisions we apply most are Article 22 for full foreign ownership, Article 23 for the licence as the condition of any activity, Article 24 for the name indication on letterheads and invoices, and Article 25 before any transfer of a licence. Article 17 is explained with its qualifier: the zero rate is stated without prejudice to federal tax legislation, so corporate tax applies and qualifying free zone status is tested under the federal rules. Article 21 is the reason an IFZA or Dubai Airport Free Zone client needs a DET branch or permit to operate in mainland Dubai.
DIEZA Implementing Regulations 2023
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IFZA Terms and Conditions
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Dubai Economic Activities Law
Framework for licensing economic activities in Dubai: permitted legal forms, licence terms and renewals, penalties, and the position of free zone companies, which are out…
Free Zone Establishments in Dubai Mainland Resolution
Issued 3 March 2025, allows establishments licensed in Dubai free zones to operate in the mainland through a DET branch licence or temporary permit, sets annual fees, sub…
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 …
Qualifying Income Decision (Free Zones)
Defines the income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person that is taxed at 0%: dealings with other free zone persons, non-excluded activities with others, and qualifying intell…
VAT Designated Zones Decision
Lists the VAT designated zones (fenced free zones treated as outside the UAE for certain supplies) as amended by five later decisions; RAK Airport Free Zone was removed f…
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