Business Support in the UAE and Abroad
Year-end
Financial year closed
Annual deadlines run from here: the manager’s financial statements, the shareholders’ meeting, the corporate tax return.
Three months to register for tax
A new company, including one in a free zone, registers for corporate tax within three months of incorporation. Being late means an AED 10,000 fine.
Business Support in the UAE and Abroad
Business Counsel in the UAE — Legal Support by Subscription
A UAE company needs a lawyer not once a year but every week: a contract with a new supplier, an offer to an employee, a bank request, a licence or tax deadline. A subscription turns these matters into a routine process — with your own lawyer, a deadline calendar and a fixed monthly fee.
- Fixed monthly fee
- We set the scope of tasks and response times in the contract
- Deadline calendar
- Licence, taxes, beneficial owners — with reminders
- Your own lawyer
- Knows the company, its contracts and its decision history
- EN · AR
- Communication and documents in English and Arabic
In short
A subscription: your own lawyer, a deadline calendar and a fixed monthly fee; scope and response times are set in the contract. Key calendar dates: tax registration within 3 months of incorporation, beneficial owners within 15 days of a change, the corporate tax return within 9 months. Court work is not included.
Checked 16 October 2026 · Violetta Absalyamova
Cost of a mistake
Up to AED 30,000
The beneficial ownership register not updated within 15 days of a change of shareholder: after a warning, AED 15,000; for a repeat, AED 30,000.
How to avoid itWhat a subscription actually gives you
Companies make their most expensive legal mistakes in routine work: signing someone else’s template, dismissing an employee “quickly”, not documenting a shareholder resolution. A subscription means the lawyer sees these steps before signing, not after a claim.
Contracts before signing
We review and draft contracts with clients, suppliers and contractors in English and Arabic, handle the counterparty’s redlines and explain where the risk lies.
Corporate housekeeping
Shareholder resolutions, the annual general meeting, the register of shareholders and UBO, powers of attorney. We carry out changes together with the PRO so that the licence and the bank reflect them.
Employees and day-to-day questions
Offers and contracts on the MOHRE form, warnings and dismissals with a calculation of payments. Short questions — by messenger or on a call.
Deadlines and bank requests
We keep the company’s calendar of dates: licence, establishment card, corporate tax, VAT, beneficial owners, employee visas. We answer the bank’s compliance requests in a single package, with a position.
Expert tip
Corporate problems are built into documents that looked fine until relations became complicated. Make it a rule: a major contract, a dismissal, a response to a claim or a bank request — only after a lawyer. Then the risk is visible before signing.
Violetta AbsalyamovaHead of Legal Practice · Business support and legal mattersWho it suits
Who it suits — and when to choose something else
A good fit if
- 01The company has regular contracts — with clients, suppliers and contractors in the UAE and abroad, and each one needs to be reviewed under UAE law.
- 02You have employees on company visas: hiring, salaries via WPS, changes to terms and departures go on all year.
- 03The company has several shareholders or an investor, and resolutions, shares and corporate documents need to be kept in order.
- 04You have no in-house lawyer, and one-off invoices for consultations arrive almost every month — you need a predictable budget.
- 05You need someone to keep track of deadlines — licence, taxes, beneficial owners — and prepare answers to the bank’s regular requests.
- 06You have been through a “Legal Audit” and want to close the risks it found and prevent new ones.
Consider something else if
- 01The company doesn’t exist yet or is still being registered. It is convenient to start a subscription right after that — so that the documents are in order from the first deals.Company Registration
- 02You need one contract or power of attorney, followed by months of quiet: a subscription won’t pay off; a one-off task with a price agreed before work starts makes more sense.Contracts and Transactions
- 03A claim has already been filed against the company, or there is an arbitration or a complaint to MOHRE — that is a separate project with a budget by stage and UAE-licensed advocates.Disputes and Litigation
- 04Your tasks are visas, renewals and filings with government authorities, not legal questions.PRO Services
- 05You need accounting and tax calculation — that is an accountant’s job. The subscription covers the legal side and the calendar of tax deadlines.
Ways of working
Subscription, one-off tasks or an in-house lawyer?
The format depends on how often your company needs a lawyer. If nobody has reviewed your documents for a long time, start with a “Legal Audit”: it shows what to fix, and a subscription keeps things in order. Employer costs are based on UAE labour law.
- How you pay
Per task
we name the price before work starts
- When it makes sense
A lawyer once a quarter
- Who handles it
A lawyer for the specific task
- Deadline calendar
Not included
Click an option to highlight it across every parameter
Benefits
What you get
Who does what
How the subscription works — on three common tasks
The completion date of each task is visible in your client portal. The lawyer shows the risk and the options — the decision on what to agree to remains yours.
From you — the draft, the background and decisions on disputed points. Notice periods and contract end dates go into the company calendar.
From you — the request with the date it was received, the documents on the list and approval of the response. Nothing goes to the bank without your approval.
From you — the decision, the conversation and the payments. We check the grounds, the notice period and the calculation before you talk to the employee.
Meeting with an expert
Not sure whether you need a subscription?
At the meeting we’ll go through your contracts and employees, estimate the monthly workload and tell you which is better value: a subscription or one-off tasks.
Process
8 steps from the first conversation to the result
Every step is visible in the client portal: what’s happening now and whether we need anything from you.
Steps on your side: 1 of 8
We handle it · 6Needed from you · 1Authority · 1
We look at how the company is set up: zone, shareholders, employees, banks, how many contracts and questions come up each month. We tell you honestly if you don’t need a subscription yet.
Step 1 of 8
Introductory meeting
We look at how the company is set up: zone, shareholders, employees, banks, how many contracts and questions come up each month. We tell you honestly if you don’t need a subscription yet.
We handle it30–60 minutes
Documents
What you’ll need
For the introduction and express review
- Licence and articles — MOA — with all amendments
- Register of shareholders and register of beneficial owners
- Current contracts with key clients, suppliers and the landlord
- List of employees on company visas: positions and contract terms
- List of banks where the company holds accounts
For the deadline calendar
- Establishment card and the expiry dates of the licence, visas and Emirates IDs
- Tax registrations: corporate tax and VAT, if any
- Powers of attorney and a list of signatories with their authority
For each request
- The document in an editable format — a draft contract, letter or resolution
- In brief: the purpose of the deal, the amount, the timing and what is critical for you
- Correspondence with the counterparty, bank or authority; for a bank request — the date it was received
Timing and budget
What makes up the budget
A subscription is a fixed fee for an agreed scope of work: which tasks and within what time frames is set out in the contract. Court cases, government fees and notary costs are not included — we name them in advance for each task. Bookkeeping and tax calculation are an accountant’s job.
ItemDepends onWhen
- Subscription feeDepends onCovers the agreed scope: contracts, corporate and employment documents, consultations, the deadline calendar, responses to the bank. Depends on the number of tasks, response times and document languages.WhenMonthly
- Work beyond the scopeDepends onWe tell you before work starts and offer options: a separate task at a fixed price, moving it to the next month or a new subscription scope.WhenBy agreement
- Disputes and representationDepends onClaims, arbitration, MOHRE disputes, criminal cases, enforcement of judgments — a separate project with a budget by stage. In the onshore courts, the company is represented by a UAE-licensed advocate.WhenBy stage of the case
- Major projectsDepends onBuying a company, due diligence, restructuring, deals involving several jurisdictions — estimated separately.WhenBefore the project starts
- Government fees and notaryDepends onFees of the licensing authority or free zone, ICP, the notary and the courts — at the authorities’ rates.WhenOn filing
- Translation and legalisationDepends onTranslation into Arabic by a licensed translator and certification — if the document is needed by a notary, a court or a government authority.WhenAs needed
- Accounting and taxesDepends onNot included in the subscription: bookkeeping and tax calculation are done by an accountant. The lawyer is responsible for the legal side and reminds you of tax deadlines.When—
Deadline calendar
Which deadlines the lawyer keeps in the calendar — and what being late costs
Annual deadlines run from the end of the financial year; the others are triggered by an event: a change of shareholder, a share sale, a dismissal, a counterparty’s debt. The dates for the licence, establishment card and visas are in the calendar too — here we show the legal and tax ones. Amounts are federal, as of October 2026.
0123456789101112months after financial year-end
Up to 3 months
LLC manager’s financial statements
The balance sheet, the profit and loss account and the annual report with a proposal on distributing profit — for the general meeting.
Up to 4 months
LLC general meeting of shareholders
Approves the balance sheet and the profit and loss account and appoints the auditor. The invitation goes to shareholders at least 21 days before the meeting.
Up to 9 months
Corporate tax return and payment
Filed even at the 0% rate. Audited financial statements are required with revenue above AED 50 million and for qualifying free zone companies.
If missed: AED 500 a month for the first 12 months of delay, then AED 1,000 a month
Every month and quarter
By the 1st of the following month
Salaries via WPS
For companies in the MOHRE system — the rule since 1 June 2026, with no grace period. The obligation is met if at least 85% of the payroll is paid on time.
If missed: from the 5th day, MOHRE stops new work permits for the company, then fines follow
28 days after the end of the tax period
VAT return and payment
For VAT-registered companies; the period is usually a quarter.
If missed: on unpaid tax — 14% a year, charged monthly (from 14 April 2026)
Company: event-driven
15 days after the change
Beneficial ownership register
A change of shareholder, of a share or of the person controlling the company — update the details with the registrar. The licence, the articles and the bank file are updated along with them.
If missed: after a warning — AED 15,000, for a repeat — AED 30,000
30 days from the manager’s notice of the price
Selling a share to a non-shareholder
If you sell or gift a share to a non-shareholder, first notify the others through the manager: within this period they have the right to buy it first. For the company and third parties, the transfer takes effect from the entry in the register.
Turnover above AED 375,000 over 12 months
VAT registration
Or if turnover is expected to exceed the threshold within the next 30 days.
If missed: AED 10,000 for late registration
Employees and counterparties
30–90 days
Notice of termination
Outside probation — as set in the employment contract, within these limits. If notice isn’t observed, the party pays the salary for the entire notice period or the remainder of it.
14 days after the contract ends
Final settlement for the employee
The salary and everything due. A foreign employee with at least a year of service gets an end-of-service gratuity: 21 days’ basic salary for each of the first 5 years, then 30.
2 years after leaving
Employment claims and the personnel file
After that, the court does not hear a claim for rights under the labour law; the company keeps the personnel file for at least two years after the employee leaves.
5 years
Limitation period for debts between merchants
Runs from the date performance was due. Don’t put off the demand letter and the claim until the final year.
Getting it right
Common mistakes — and how to avoid them
Click a card to see how to do it right · 0 of 8 open
01 What people often do
Signing a counterparty’s contract “as is”, or an English template with no governing law and jurisdiction clause.
02 What people often do
Calling a lawyer once the counterparty has already stopped paying.
03 What people often do
Making shareholder decisions in a chat, without a formal document.
04 What people often do
Changing a shareholder or manager without updating the registers.
05 What people often do
Using contract templates written before summer 2026 without any changes.
06 What people often do
Changing an employee’s terms verbally — salary, position, schedule.
07 What people often do
Finding out about corporate tax deadlines after a fine.
08 What people often do
Answering a bank compliance request quickly and with as many documents as possible.
FAQ
Expert answers
Violetta Absalyamova — Business support and legal matters
We set out the scope in the contract for your company. Usually it covers reviewing and drafting contracts, corporate resolutions, employment documents, consultations, the deadline calendar and responses to bank requests; several group companies can be covered by one subscription. Not included: court cases and representation, criminal cases, major deals and due diligence, bookkeeping and tax calculation. Government fees, notary and translation are paid separately — we name them in advance.
Violetta Absalyamova · Business support and legal mattersSources
- FTA — corporate tax returns and payment within nine months
- FTA — timeframes for corporate tax registration
- UAE Ministry of Finance — AED 10,000 penalty for late corporate tax registration
- FTA — VAT registration
- UAE Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 — beneficial ownership
- WAM — 9% corporate tax rate
- Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies — text on the RAKEZ website
- Clyde & Co — stricter wage protection rules from 1 June 2026
Deadlines, amounts and rules are based on these sources as of the check date. Rules change: check with us before deciding.
Often goes with this
What else you may need
Legal ServicesContracts and Transactions
If you need a contract only once, or a task goes beyond the subscription — one-off work at a price agreed before starting.
Legal ServicesLegal Audit
A full check-up of documents with a risk report. It is often where clients start: the risks found are easier to close under a subscription.
Legal ServicesEmployment Matters
Hiring, dismissal, employment contracts and employer policies — as a separate service if HR issues come up rarely.
Next step
Tell us about your company — we’ll propose a subscription scope
Send us your licence and describe the contracts, employees and decisions you are working on. We will propose a subscription scope, start with an express review of your documents and tell you honestly if paying for one-off tasks is better value.
Violetta AbsalyamovaHead of Legal Practice · Business support and legal matters