VAT Registration Services in Dubai
Mandatory or voluntary, checked against the FTA thresholds, then your TRN applied for.
Registering a business for VAT
A business registers for VAT when its taxable supplies and imports cross the FTA’s line, and may register earlier once it reaches the voluntary one. We check your figures against both, prepare the application on EmaraTax with the declaration and invoices the FTA asks for, and send you the Tax Registration Number when it is issued.
The two lines are the FTA’s: “The mandatory registration threshold is AED 375,000” (FTA, mandatory registration) and “The voluntary registration threshold is AED 187,500” (FTA, voluntary registration), both pages dated 16 May 2024. How the 12-month and 30-day tests work, and the penalty for applying late, are in our guide UAE VAT registration: thresholds, deadlines and the 30-day rule.
Our part of the registration
- The threshold check: your last 12 months and the next 30 days, against both lines
- The application on EmaraTax, with the turnover declaration and the supporting invoices or contracts
- Your TRN and registration certificate, sent to you when issued
- Changes to the registration: a renewed licence, another activity, a move or a different signatory
- The FTA's questions on the application, answered until it is decided
Get this quoted
Itemised in writing, government charges shown separately, before anything is filed.
Which one do you need?
When registration is mandatory, and when it is a choice
- A business whose taxable supplies and imports passed AED 375,000 in the last 12 months, or will in the next 30 days (FTA)
- A business that may register voluntarily, whose supplies, imports or taxable expenses passed AED 187,500 (FTA)
- A new company with contracts signed but no sales yet, registering on expected revenue
- A registered business whose details changed
The FTA's document list
What the FTA lists (VAT registration service, updated 19 August 2026), by legal form:
- "Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum of Association, or Partnership Agreement (if applicable)."
- "A valid trade license, along with branch licenses (if any)."
- "Emirates ID and passport copies of owners and authorized signatories."
- "Power of attorney document for the authorized signatory, required if the manager’s name is not mentioned"
- "Official declaration letter stating the total taxable supplies and monthly sales"
- "Supporting documents, including invoices, local purchase orders, contracts, ownership deeds"
- "Customs information (if applicable)."
Added from our client checklist: three sample sales or purchase invoices showing the business is trading, an official email address for the tax account and a contact number. The list is settled with you at quotation.
From your figures to a TRN
- Your figures for the last 12 months and the next 30 days, read against both thresholds.
- A written quote.
- The declaration and invoices prepared in the form the FTA lists.
- The application completed on EmaraTax and checked against your licence.
- Filed, and the FTA's queries answered until it decides.
- Your TRN, and your first return date noted: VAT Return Filing.
Processing time and fee, as published
As the FTA's VAT registration page states (FTA, updated 19 August 2026):
- Processing: "20 business days from the date the completed application was received"
- Service fee: "Free"
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 threshold check
The FTA's test looks both ways: the total of taxable supplies and imports over the previous 12 months, and what the business expects in the next 30 days. We put your monthly sales into that frame, and where the voluntary line is the relevant one, add taxable expenses as the FTA's voluntary test allows.
Keeping it current
The details on a VAT registration are those of the day it was filed. A renewal, an added activity, a new address or a different signatory is reported to the FTA as an amendment, with the document that proves the change.
Not published officially
- An application deadline on the mandatory-registration page. The 30 days there is the forward-looking test, not a filing window.
- Any total. We do not add charges together; your quote lists each one.
VAT registration questions
When is VAT registration mandatory?
When taxable supplies and imports exceeded AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or are expected to in the next 30 days. "The mandatory registration threshold is AED 375,000." (FTA, dated 16 May 2024).
Can I register before I reach it?
Yes, once supplies, imports or taxable expenses pass the voluntary line: "The voluntary registration threshold is AED 187,500" (FTA).
Is the 30 days a deadline to apply?
On the FTA's mandatory-registration page the 30 days is the forward test: a business that expects to cross the threshold in the next 30 days registers (FTA).
Which papers go with the application?
Proof of how the company is constituted, its licence, "Emirates ID and passport copies of owners and authorized signatories", a signed statement of taxable supplies and monthly sales, and invoices or contracts behind it (FTA, updated 19 August 2026).
What processing time does the FTA give?
"20 business days from the date the completed application was received" (FTA).
Does registering cost anything at the FTA?
Its page shows the fee as "Free" (FTA). What we charge is set out in your quote.
Is a free zone business treated differently?
The thresholds look at the business's supplies, not where its licence was issued. How that applies to you is settled at quotation.
What happens after registration?
Returns, usually every quarter: VAT Return Filing.
Can details be updated after registration?
Yes. A renewal, an added activity or a change of signatory goes to the FTA as an amendment, with the paper that proves it.
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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