Adding an activity at renewal
Can I add a new business activity when I renew my licence?
The situation
Adding an activity is a licence amendment. It can be done with or before renewal, but some activities need extra approvals.
The law
- Emirate licensing rules: Activities on the licence define what you may legally do
- Art 18, Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022: For free zone companies, new activities can change qualifying income
What it means for you
Banks and the FTA rely on the licence activities, so start the new line only after the amendment. In a free zone, a new activity may not be on the qualifying list and could create non-qualifying income. Example: a zone trading company adding marketing services for mainland clients may push its non-qualifying revenue toward the de minimis limit.
What to do
- Pick the exact activity code.
- Check external approvals and extra fees.
- For free zones, test the tax impact.
- Apply for the amendment, then renew.
We can do this for youTrade licence renewal for mainland and free zone companies: Ejari, UBO, audit and tax checks before renewal: AED 1,200