All UAE onshore and free zone companies and certain other business forms that conduct one or more of the nine ESR Relevant Activities (RA) during a FY (referred to as Licensees), must consider their annual filing requirements.
The below table outlines the upcoming deadlines for a selection of FY ends:
FY end |
Filing deadlines |
|
Notification |
Report |
|
31 Dec 2020 |
30 Jun 2021 |
31 Dec 2021 |
31 Mar 2021 |
30 Sep 2021 |
31 Mar 2022 |
30 Jun 2021 |
31 Dec 2021 |
30 Jun 2022 |
30 Sep 2021 |
31 Mar 2022 |
30 Sep 2022 |
31 Dec 2021 |
30 Jun 2022 |
31 Dec 2022 |
All entities are encouraged to, as soon as possible, determine their upcoming ESR filing obligations for any completed FYs and take necessary steps to ensure filings are made within the applicable deadlines and all necessary supporting documentation is available at the time of the filing.
Penalties for non-compliance with the ESR include financial penalties for the failure to submit a notification (AED 20,000), failure to submit an ES report (AED 50,000), failure to provide accurate or complete information (AED 50,000), and failure to demonstrate sufficient ES in the UAE (first failure is AED 50,000 and second consecutive instance of failure is AED 400,000). Non-financial penalties include deemed failure to demonstrate substance and information exchanges
with certain foreign authorities. Please note that the Federal Tax Authority
has initiated audits.
All UAE entities should consider the following ESR matters and ensure action is taken, where relevant, before the end of a FY:
The purpose of the above guidance (non-exhaustive) is to provide entities with an opportunity to take any necessary actions to comply with the ESR before it is too late.