FTA Penalty Reconsideration Requests in the UAE
Your reconsideration or waiver request prepared with its grounds and evidence; you submit it, the FTA decides.
Asking the FTA to look at a penalty again
When the Federal Tax Authority issues a penalty you believe is wrong, the FTA has a process to look at its own decision again: the reconsideration request. We prepare the request and its grounds; you submit it from your own EmaraTax account, with us beside you; the FTA decides.
That division is the FTA’s rule, not ours. Its service page states that a request “must be submitted to the Federal Tax Authority by the concerned person directly”, that it also accepts requests from an appointed agent or legal representative, and that “Tax Advisors (who are not registered as Tax Agents) are not permitted to submit any reconsideration requests on behalf of another person” (FTA, Reconsideration Request, page updated 19 August 2026). AL HUDHUD is not registered with the FTA in that role, so the submission is always yours.
What we prepare
- The penalty read with you: the FTA decision, the period, and what the penalty was imposed for
- The grounds for the request, factual and legal, written from your records
- The evidence organised: the documents that prove each ground, in the formats the FTA accepts
- Submission beside you from your own EmaraTax account, under Other Services, Reconsiderations
- A waiver or instalment request prepared instead, where that is the FTA route that fits
- The next step explained if the decision stands
Get this quoted
Itemised in writing, government charges shown separately, before anything is filed.
Which one do you need?
Who this is for
- Companies with a Corporate Tax penalty, for example for late registration or a late return
- Businesses with a VAT penalty for a late return, late payment or a registration issue
- Anyone the FTA has issued a decision to: the waiver service is open to "All persons in respect of whom the FTA issued a decision" (FTA, page updated 18 September 2026)
- Companies inside the 40-business-day window, or deciding quickly whether they are
What we need from you
- the FTA decision or penalty notice, with its date
- the return, registration or payment the penalty relates to
- the records behind each ground: bank statements, invoices, correspondence
- any tax advice you received, which the FTA asks to see
- your EmaraTax login, used by you on the day
The FTA accepts Word, Excel, PDF, JPG, PNG and JPEG files, up to 5 MB each (FTA).
How a request runs
- The decision and its date checked against the FTA's window.
- A written quote.
- The grounds drafted and the evidence organised.
- Your review of every statement made in the request.
- You submit from your EmaraTax account, with us beside you.
- The FTA decides, and we go through the decision with you.
What the FTA publishes
Reconsideration (FTA, Reconsideration Request, page updated 19 August 2026):
- "You must raise the reconsideration request within 40 business days from the date of original decision by FTA." The same page's FAQ gives the window as 40 working days from the date you were notified of the decision; we work to the earlier of the two
- "The Authority may take up to 45 business days to respond to you from the date it receives the completed request", and may extend that period
- the service is listed as free, and is submitted on EmaraTax
Waiver and instalment (FTA, page updated 18 September 2026):
- decided "Within a period not exceeding 110 business days from the date of receipt of the request."
- an undertaking "that the person has corrected the violation and undertakes not to repeat the violation" is attached
The penalty amounts are in the Cabinet Decisions, linked and not restated here: Corporate Tax, Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 and its amendments (in force 1 August 2023); VAT, Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 and its amendments, last amended by Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025 with effect from 14 April 2026.
Fees: Quote on request. Our service fee is quoted in writing after a short review of your file, and any authority charge is listed separately in your quote.
The reconsideration request
A request is only as strong as its grounds. We read the decision, set out what happened and why the penalty should not apply, and attach the documents that prove each point. You read every line before it goes in, because it is submitted from your account and in your name.
Waiver or instalment
Where the penalty is not disputed but paying it in one go is the problem, the FTA has a separate service for instalments and waivers, with its own conditions and an undertaking that the violation has been corrected. We check which route fits before anything is drafted, and the submission follows the same rule: from your own EmaraTax account, with us beside you.
Late Corporate Tax registration
The FTA's initiative waives the late-registration penalty where the first return or annual declaration is filed within seven months of the end of the first tax period. If you are inside that window, filing on time can matter more than any request.
Not published officially
- How often reconsideration requests succeed. The FTA publishes no rate, and neither do we.
- Penalty amounts on this page. They are in the Cabinet Decisions linked above, which have been amended; we read the version in force for your period.
- A way to submit for you. The FTA allows the person, an appointed agent or a legal representative; we are none of these on your file.
Penalty reconsideration questions
Can you submit the reconsideration request for me?
No. The FTA states that "Tax Advisors (who are not registered as Tax Agents) are not permitted to submit any reconsideration requests on behalf of another person" (FTA). We prepare the request and its grounds; you submit it from your own EmaraTax account, with us beside you.
How long do I have to ask?
"You must raise the reconsideration request within 40 business days from the date of original decision by FTA"; the page's FAQ counts 40 working days from notification of the decision (FTA, updated 19 August 2026). We work to the earlier date.
How long does the FTA take to answer?
"The Authority may take up to 45 business days to respond to you from the date it receives the completed request", and it may extend that (FTA).
Does the FTA charge for a reconsideration request?
Its service page lists the service as free. Our own fee is quoted on request.
Can you promise the penalty will be removed?
No. We prepare the strongest request your records support; the decision is the FTA's alone.
What is the difference between reconsideration and a waiver?
Reconsideration asks the FTA to review its decision. A waiver or instalment request is a separate FTA service, decided "Within a period not exceeding 110 business days" and accompanied by an undertaking that the violation has been corrected (FTA).
I registered late for Corporate Tax. Do I need a reconsideration request?
Not always. The FTA's waiver initiative applies where the first return or declaration is filed "within seven (7) months from the end of the first tax period" (FTA, page updated 26 October 2026), and the FTA has said that waiver is applied automatically. We check whether it covers you first: Corporate Tax Registration.
What if the FTA does not change its decision?
The FTA's page says a reconsideration decision can be taken to the Tax Dispute Resolution Committee. We explain that route; representation before it is a matter for a lawyer.
Where are the penalty amounts?
In the Cabinet Decisions: Corporate Tax, Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 and its amendments; VAT, Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 and its amendments, amended with effect from 14 April 2026. We read your penalty against the version in force for your period.
What should I send first?
The FTA decision with its date, and the return or registration it relates to. The date decides how much time is left.
Every rule, deadline and threshold above names the authority that published it and the date shown on its page when we read it on 14 November 2026: the Federal Tax Authority (tax.gov.ae), the Ministry of Finance (mof.gov.ae) and the federal portal u.ae. Tax rules, fees and processing times are set by the authorities and can change without notice; confirm with the FTA before you rely on them. AL HUDHUD prepares and files on your instructions; your position is confirmed with you at quotation, and every decision rests with the Federal Tax Authority.
Last updated: November 2026.
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