A person in the UAE obtains a Tax Registration Number after submitting a registration application to the Federal Tax Authority and having it reviewed, since "tax registration is completed by issuing the Tax Registration Number to the applicant or by reactivating a previously suspended Tax Registration Number." The registrant must then notify the Authority of any change to their data within twenty working days of that change occurring.

Steps of Tax Registration

Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022 on Tax Procedures provides that "the taxable person shall apply to the Authority for registration in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Law," and the Executive Regulation clarifies that the tax registration application is submitted to the Authority "in the form and manner approved by it," after which the Authority reviews it according to its approved rules, and registration is then completed by issuing the Tax Registration Number to the applicant.

Including the TRN in Correspondence

Once the Tax Registration Number is obtained, the registrant is required to "include their Tax Registration Number in all their correspondence and dealings with the Authority and others in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Law."

When Does the Tax Registration Obligation Arise?

The obligation to register for tax arises once a person meets the substantive conditions set out in the relevant Tax Law (such as the VAT Law or the Corporate Tax Law), while the Tax Procedures Decree-Law regulates the procedural side common to all federal taxes: how to submit the application, how the number is issued, how data is updated, and how deregistration works.

Deadline for Notifying the Authority of Data Changes

The law requires the registrant to "notify the Authority, in the form and manner it specifies, of the occurrence of any circumstance that may require amending the information relating to their tax record held by the Authority, within twenty (20) working days from the date that circumstance occurs." According to the Executive Regulation, this data includes the name, address and email, the activity registered on the trade licence, the legal form, the nature of the registrant's business, and the address from which the registrant conducts business.

Tax Deregistration

A registrant who meets the conditions for deregistration must "apply for deregistration in accordance with the relevant conditions in the Tax Law," and if they do not submit that application, the Authority may deregister them in accordance with the controls and procedures set out in the Tax Law, with deregistration being completed by suspending the Tax Registration Number.

Licensing Authorities' Duty to Notify the Authority

The obligation is not limited to the taxable person alone; government entities responsible for granting business licences are also required to notify the Authority when a licence is granted, "within a maximum period of twenty (20) working days from the date of issuing the licence," with the notification including the licensee's name, the type, number and issue date of the trade licence, a description of its activities, and the details of the owners, partners and managers.

Why the Notification Deadline Matters

The practical importance of the twenty-working-day deadline is that being late in notifying a data change, or in submitting a registration or deregistration application in the first place, is itself one of the violations that triggers an administrative penalty under Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022 on Tax Procedures, regardless of the person's good faith or unawareness of the set deadline.

Legal References

For questions about your specific situation, you can ask the UAE Tax & Legislation Helper on Helpers, or consult a licensed chartered accountant.