Start-up Small and Micro Enterprises Landing in Abu Dhabi: Practical Suggestions for Registered Companies

In recent years, many domestic start-up small and micro enterprises have aimed at Abu Dhabi's new energy, cross-border e-commerce and light technology service bonus distribution. However, as the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi's commercial rules are significantly different from Dubai's. Many start-up teams blindly copy Dubai's registration experience, which not only wastes valuable cash flow at the start-up stage, but also steps on potential compliance hazards. This article gives the start-up team to sort out the highly adaptable landing recommendations, with the lowest cost to quickly complete the main construction, to avoid the start-up period of all kinds of hidden pits.

Priority Free Zone Registration

the core demands of small and micro enterprises are low cost, simple procedures and free capital. It is recommended to choose FZE single-owned company in Abu Dhabi Free Zone, and it is not recommended to register inland mainland companies for the first time.

The advantages of free zones meet the needs of start-ups: 100 foreign investors can hold wholly-owned shares without the need for local insurers; The subscription system is implemented without compulsory capital payment. Allow virtual sharing of station addresses without leasing high-priced physical offices; Overseas revenue enjoys 0% enterprise income tax, profits can be remitted back to China without restriction, and there is no foreign exchange control. Although inland companies can operate all over the country and participate in local government bidding, they must lease physical office space, pay in the minimum registered capital of 150000 dirhams, and more than double the comprehensive expenditure in the first year. They are suitable for enterprises that deeply cultivate local offline business and are not suitable for the start-up water test stage.

Subdivision parks are selected according to needs: KIZAD Khalifa Industrial Zone is preferred for pure foreign trade, cross-border e-commerce and ordinary commerce, with low annual fee and the highest cost performance of visa package. It is adjacent to Khalifa Port and convenient for import and export customs clearance. ADGM Abu Dhabi Global Market is available for brand holding, business consulting and light asset services. It follows the Anglo-American legal system, with strong legal security and high bank recognition, which is conducive to opening offshore accounts, enjoy the start-up annual fee reduction policy.

Registered capital, business scope to streamline planning, avoid wind control review

the free zone cannot set a minimum threshold, and it is most appropriate for start-ups to apply for a unified 50000-100000 dirhams. If the amount is too low, the bank will determine that the operating strength of the enterprise is insufficient; if the amount of payment is too high, when the company is liquidated and debt disputes arise in the future, the shareholders will need to bear the liability for compensation within the payment limit, which will increase the personal risk. There is no need for capital verification throughout the process, no need to record funds in advance, and capital can be injected in batches on demand year by year.

Fill in 2 to 3 main businesses according to the official standard entries of the park, and do not pile up unrelated formats such as trade, consulting, science and technology on a large scale. Business clutter will be judged by banks to be vague in business positioning, greatly reducing the pass rate of offshore account opening; finance, insurance, funds and other words are strictly prohibited from being written into the license without a special license.

Preliminary data preparation streamlining programme

most small and micro enterprises are held by natural persons in China. The information is simplified as much as possible to reduce unnecessary expenses: shareholders only need to provide passports valid for more than 6 months, proof of address of water and electricity bills for nearly 3 months, and white background certificates to submit pre-registration. Simply applying for a business license does not require consular double certification; Only before opening a bank account and applying for an investor's residence visa, the identity document will be notarized + certified by the UAE embassy in China to avoid wasting expenses when the certification document expires.

If a subsidiary is set up for the parent company of a domestic small and micro enterprise, priority will be given to suspending ODI Filing, starting with individual shareholding in the early stage, and after the business is stable and generates fixed revenue, the shareholding structure will be adjusted to significantly reduce the complexity of the initial procedures and administrative costs.

Tax and Funding Compliance Planning

the threshold for corporate income tax in the United Arab Emirates is 375000 dirhams per year, and the start-up stage of small and micro enterprises is basically unable to reach the profit threshold, naturally meeting the condition of zero taxation. Daily only need to complete the tax zero declaration on schedule, the annual UBO final beneficiary filing can be, without paying corporate income tax, annual turnover of less than 375000 dirhams can not be registered VAT tax number, save the cost of accounting tax returns.

Funds are recorded in strict accordance with the transfer of the shareholder's account of the same name, the remittance notes are marked with equity contributions, and all bank receipts are retained for annual audit. Do not transfer funds through personal private exchange or underground banks to avoid penalties for foreign exchange violations. Idle funds are retained in the company's account and can be used for daily cross-border settlement without rushing back to the country.

Bank account opening and visa processing on demand

if there is no need to go to the Middle East frequently offline in the early stage of the start-up, you can not apply for an investor residence visa first, but only keep the pure license, which can save thousands of dollars in visa renewal, medical examination and social security related expenses every year. When you need to frequently enter and leave the UAE and connect with local customers, you will add visa quotas.

Give priority to Abu Dhabi's local mainstream banks for account opening, prepare simple business plans, domestic upstream and downstream cooperation intention contracts to prove the authenticity of the business, and improve the success rate of account opening; do not easily choose niche foreign banks to avoid the freezing of subsequent account wind control and unstable services.

Late Operation and Maintenance

abu Dhabi companies must complete license renewal, address custody, financial declaration and beneficiary information update every year. They must not be left idle. Fines will continue to accumulate after the deadline. Directors will be blacklisted in the UAE and cannot enter Gulf countries.

If the business is temporarily stagnant, you can apply to the park for the qualification of a dormant company, significantly reduce the annual maintenance cost, and retain the main body of the company to facilitate subsequent restart. The whole set of documents, running water and audit information shall be retained for more than five years for retroactive verification by the tax authorities.

Zhuoxin Enterprise provides agency services such as domestic and foreign company registration, bank account opening, annual tax return, agency bookkeeping, trademark registration, ODI Overseas Investment Filing, etc. If you have any business needs in this area, please feel free to consult our online customer service!