Ministerial fees reduced for 94 federal services

April 16, 2020

By Raka Roy

On April 11, 2020 the UAE Government took additional steps to protect local businesses and continue attracting foreign investments by announcing the reduction of ministerial fees across 94 federal services provided to individuals, companies and the business sector as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The most encouraging news is that although these reductions were driven by the pandemic, the reductions are in fact a permanent relief being offered by the Government.

The list of services was announced by the Ministry of Economy in accordance with the Cabinet Resolution No. 20 of 2020 regarding service fees provided by the Ministry. In alignment with the Government objectives of promoting local and international business, several services covering business activities, investment, production, trade, import and export activities have been prominently included in the reduction list enforced by the Ministry.

Some of the 94 services include,

1. Commercial registration services
2. Commercial agencies
3. Trademark registrations
4. Origin services
5. Auditing
6. Services related to other intellectual property rights including patents and related services on innovation.

The Ministry of Economy detailed a schedule of fee updates across services. Among them are services receiving 25 percent discounts including:

1. The collective management license fees
2. Applications for registering a trademark or trademarks of goods
3. Products or services related to a single category, and
4. Publishing official documents for joint stock companies or partnership companies on shares basis, among other services.

Services receiving a 50 percent discount include:

1. Certificates for auditors
2. Ratification of partnership contracts
3. Renewing the registration of branches of national companies in an auditor’s schedule, and
4. ‘Origin Certificates’ for national products

The financial value of the burden being lifted from the business sector as a result of this reduction is estimated to be valued at Dh413 million in 2020.

The Cabinet additionally approved the extension of government services expiring on March 1, 2020, onwards for a renewable period of three months, starting April 1, 2020. The decision applies to all federal government services, including documents, permits, licenses and commercial registers.

Due to the severe and sudden impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE has taken several considerable measures to reduce the impact on the economy. The permanent reduction of fees on services which are of primary importance and mandatorily required in establishing and running operations and trading clearly indicates the UAE government’s intention in assisting businesses, displaying support and stimulating the economy of the country.