Accounting, tax and audit for JAFZA companies

JAFZA is the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai. It hosts more than 11,000 companies, and it uses the Dubai DED list of business activities for licensing.

The activity on your licence matters for tax. Whether income counts as qualifying income for the free-zone regime depends on what the company actually does, so keep your licence activities and your real business in line, and tell your tax agent about any change.

A JAFZA company is a Free Zone Person and must register for corporate tax. New companies have 3 months from incorporation. The return and any payment are due 9 months after the end of the tax period, which is 30 September for a December year-end.

The 0% rate on qualifying income is only for a Qualifying Free Zone Person. The conditions are adequate substance in the free zone, qualifying income, transfer pricing compliance, no election into the standard regime, audited IFRS statements, and the de minimis test (non-qualifying revenue no more than 5% of total revenue or AED 5m, whichever is lower). Failing one means 9% for that period and the next four.

For companies that move goods, there is a newer step. FTA Decision No. 6 of 2026 requires a QFZP that distributes goods in or from a Designated Zone to get an agreed-upon procedures (AUP) report from an independent auditor. It applies to tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2026, and the report is due within 30 days after the corporate tax return deadline. Plan it with your audit so the same firm is not booked twice at the busiest time of the year.