UAE’s ministry of economy cancels fees for over 100 services

The UAE’s ministry of Economy has cancelled the fees for 102 services and reduced the charges for other services as part of efforts to boost business activity in the country, it announced on Saturday.

The ministry’s new amended fee structure covers a total of 110 services and comes under the cabinet resolution which called for reducing government services fees, official news agency WAM reported.

Along with the cancellations, the ministry said the fees for eight services will be reduced by up to 50 per cent at the ministry’s customer happiness centres and on its official website.

Under the updated fee structure, the charge for a dispute between agents, appointed representatives and collector from a trade agent has been cut from Dhs12,000 to Dhs8,040.

The fee for publishing official announcements by foreign private joint stock companies has been cut to Dhs10,000 from Dhs20,000, while the fee for the sale, merger and acquisition of foreign companies has been cut from Dhs15,000 to Dhs10,050.

The charges for the registration and renewal of a trademark or trademarks for goods, products and services have been reduced to Dhs6,700 from Dhs10,000.

Meanwhile, the fee for a three-year registration for branches of national companies for auditors has been reduced to Dhs10,050 from Dhs15,000.

The amended fees account for 47 per cent of the total fees levied by the ministry, the report stated.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, minister of Economy, said that the latest amendments will provide a boost to the business community in the country as the cost of conducting trade and investment activities will drop for both Emiratis and resident business owners.

“The latest move comes within a series of policies and resolutions decided by the federal and local governments to stimulate and strengthen economic growth, provide new incentives to increase the attractiveness of the local business climate, generate more job opportunities and promote the UAE as a favoured investment destination which supports economic growth and advances UAE rankings on the global competitive indexes,” he added.

Last week, the ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) announced fee reductions ranging from 50 per cent to 94 per cent for 145 services and 128 transactions supervised by it.

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