Free Zone Rules of 2023 · JAFZA
Ninth edition of the free zone rulebook, issued 22 March 2023 under Decree No. 1 of 1985 as amended: licences, premises leases and sub-leases, building and insurance obligations, sponsorship and employment, inspections, fines and penalties, health, safety and environment, traffic, staff accommodation, security and the fee tariff; repeals the eighth edition of 2020.
The Jebel Ali Free Zone Rules 2023 are the ninth edition of Jafza's operating rulebook, issued in Dubai on 22 March 2023. The Chairman's introductory note states that this revised ninth edition repeals the eighth edition of 2020 and separates substantive rules from procedures. They bind every Customer, defined in Rule 2 as an FZE, FZCO, branch or other entity Jafza permits to be incorporated, excluding offshore companies, together with its employees and contractors, and they apply in addition to UAE federal and Dubai law (Rule 6).
Section B holds the substantive rules. A Customer must hold a valid lease and a valid licence to operate and renew both within the timeframe Jafza sets (Rule 6). Rule 7 lists the licence types: trading, industrial, service, general trading, logistics, e-commerce, national industrial and innovation. A licence is valid for at least one year and renewable; renewal needs a valid fitness certificate for the premises, an annual audited balance sheet, a current good-standing certificate from the place of incorporation and all dues paid (Rule 7.3). Activities outside the licence are prohibited (Rule 7.7). Under Rule 8 premises must be operational within 60 days for offices, 90 days for light industrial units and 22 months for building on a plot, and sub-leases need Jafza's approval and carry an annual fee. Rule 10 requires building insurance and third-party liability cover of AED 500,000 for up to 19 employees and AED 1,000,000 for 20 or more, plus workmen's compensation. Rule 11 governs staff: sponsorship through a Personnel Secondment Agreement, a minimum one month's notice, gratuity after one year, and salary payment through the Wage Protection System confirmed between the 1st and 15th of each month (Rule 11.7). Rule 12 lets Jafza inspect premises at any time without prior notice. Rule 13 confirms a Customer may do business in the UAE mainland subject to the laws applicable in Dubai and may advertise there, with trade exhibitions needing the relevant authority's approval.
Rule 14 sets the sanctions. Ignorance of the Rules is no defence; sanctions are minimums; Jafza may ban entry or exit of staff and goods, repossess premises, disconnect electricity for unpaid accounts, terminate the licence for serious violations and refer matters to court. Unlicensed activity costs AED 5,000, rising to AED 20,000 per repeat; employing another Customer's staff costs AED 10,000 per employee and AED 20,000 on repetition; late WPS transfers trigger withdrawal of services and AED 2,500 per month; over-occupied accommodation costs AED 5,000 to AED 20,000; and a general fine of up to AED 10,000 per day applies while non-compliance continues (Rule 14.10). Section C sets procedures for health, safety and environment, traffic, staff accommodation, security and termination (Rules 15 to 19), and Section D is the fee tariff, which includes a late payment fee of AED 1,000 per month for an expired licence. The Rules are in force.
Every Customer registered in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, meaning FZEs, FZCOs, branches and other entity forms Jafza permits (offshore companies excluded), together with their employees, contractors and visitors, and Jafza itself as the body that issues licences and leases, inspects premises and imposes the sanctions in Rule 14.
English official text in 53 provisions. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Rule 4 | Jafza regulates the Free Zone, issues licences and leases, may issue notifications and appoint representatives, and may waive a Rule for one or more Customers on conditions it sets. |
| Rule 6 | A Customer must hold a valid lease and a valid licence to operate, renew both within the timeframe Jafza sets, and comply with UAE federal and local law, which continues to apply in the Free Zone. |
| Rule 7 | Licence types are trading, industrial, service, general trading, logistics, e-commerce, national industrial and innovation; a licence runs for at least one year and renewal requires a valid fitness certificate, an annual audited balance sheet, a good-standing certificate from the place of incorporation and payment of all dues; activity outside the licence is prohibited. |
| Rule 8 | Premises must be operational within 60 days for office space, 90 days for a light industrial unit and 22 months to complete building on a plot, extendable in writing; sub-leases need Jafza's approval, carry joint liability and an annual fee. |
| Rule 10 | Customers must insure buildings on an all-risks basis and hold third-party liability cover of AED 500,000 for up to 19 employees or AED 1,000,000 for 20 or more, plus workmen's compensation insurance. |
| Rule 11 | Staff are sponsored under a Personnel Secondment Agreement with Jafza; where a guarantee is required it is at least one and a half months' basic salary plus a one-way air fare; minimum notice is one month, gratuity accrues after one year and salaries are paid through the Wage Protection System between the 1st and 15th of each month. |
| Rule 12 | Jafza may at any time inspect or enter a Customer's premises without prior notice, covering operations, accommodation and offices, and lists restricted matters such as banned substances and counterfeit goods. |
| Rule 13 | A Customer may do business in the UAE mainland subject to the laws applicable in Dubai and may advertise there; participation in trade exhibitions requires approval of the relevant UAE authority; consignment splitting, prohibited goods and customs codes are regulated. |
| Rule 14 | Sanctions: ignorance is no defence and the prescribed sanctions are minimums; Jafza may ban entry or exit of staff and goods, repossess premises, disconnect electricity for unpaid accounts, terminate the licence and refer violations to court. |
| Rule 14.2 | Carrying on an activity not on the licence costs AED 5,000 on the first occasion and AED 20,000 per occasion if repeated; serious violations may lead to termination of the licence or closure of operations. |
| Rule 14.3 | Employing another Customer's employee costs AED 10,000 per employee and AED 20,000 on repetition with suspension of operations; late WPS salary transfer after the 15th triggers withdrawal of operations and personnel services plus AED 2,500 per month; absconders must be reported within seven days and residence permits cancelled or transferred within 30 days of the final day. |
| Rule 14.10 | For any other non-compliance Jafza may impose a fine of up to AED 10,000 per day for the period during which the non-compliance continues. |
Rule 14 treats its sanctions as minimums and allows Jafza to add others or refer a matter to court. Fines include AED 5,000 for unlicensed activity, rising to AED 20,000 per repeat; AED 10,000 per employee for using another Customer's staff, AED 20,000 on repetition with suspension; AED 2,500 per month plus withdrawal of services for late WPS transfers; AED 5,000 to AED 20,000 per extra occupant in staff accommodation and AED 500 per day for substandard accommodation not fixed within 45 days; a daily penalty for operating without a fitness certificate; and up to AED 10,000 per day while any other non-compliance continues. Jafza may also ban entry and exit of staff and goods, repossess premises, disconnect electricity and terminate the licence; the tariff adds AED 1,000 per month for an expired licence.
Our Jafza clients are trading and logistics operators with warehouses, staff accommodation and sponsored workforces, so this rulebook, rather than the companies regulations, is where their day-to-day exposure sits. We build their compliance calendar around it: lease and licence renewal with the audited balance sheet and good-standing certificate that Rule 7.3 demands, fitness certificate renewals for the premises, insurance limits that step up from AED 500,000 to AED 1,000,000 when the headcount reaches 20, and WPS confirmation before the 15th of every month, because Rule 14.3 withdraws personnel services the moment a transfer is late. Our PRO team handles the Personnel Secondment Agreement, absconder reports and the 30-day permit cancellations after exits. When a client receives a violation notice we check it against Rule 14 and negotiate rectification before Jafza escalates to entry bans or repossession. Rule 13.2 confirms a Jafza company may do business in the mainland subject to Dubai's laws, which now means the DET branch licence or permit under Executive Council Resolution No. (11) of 2025.
| Repeals | The Jebel Ali Free Zone Rules, Eighth Edition 2020 |
| Cites | Labour Law Executive Regulations · PCFC Law · UAE Labour Law · Unified General Rules of Employment |
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
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