Manufacturing License in UAE

Normally in UAE activities are divided into 3 categories, which are: Commercial, Professional and Industrial. Commercial activities are wherein the client does trading or buying and selling of commodities. Professional license is where you can provide services to the end users. We will discuss broadly about Industrial or Manufacturing license under this article. Manufacturing License is where it majorly concerns the production, fabrication or assembly of goods. If someone’s core business is to transform raw materials into finished goods they need to have an Industrial License.

Manufacturing License Sectors in Dubai or In the UAE

Dubai and the northern emirates are home to many thriving manufacturing industries, covering the production of a wide range of goods. Some of the major sectors are:

• Food and beverage manufacturing industries
• Textile manufacturing
• Casting of metals industries
• Equipment and engines manufacturing
• Manufacture of petroleum products
• Paper manufacturing
• Books binding
• Cards & envelops printing
• Multi-dimensional images production (hologram)
• Pharmaceuticals packaging
• Saddle & animal, bird training requisites making
• Safety harness fabrication
• Sculptors

This is an ever expanding list as new industries surface as time passes

Requirements To Get An Industrial License In Dubai Mainland

To apply for an industrial license in Dubai Mainland, there are certain requirements. Below are few of them:

• The legal structure of the license would be LLC, wherein the UAE National would hold 51% and the expat will hold 49%
• A physical premise is required like a factory / warehouse – virtual offices are not permitted
• The company registered in the UAE must have a local industrial license to operate in the UAE market
• There is a paid up share capital required for an Industrial license

Normally the process is defined depending on the activity. However the general process is there is an approval from 2 departments:

1. Environment Section-Dubai Municipality and
2. Ministry of Economy
3. Department of Economic Development, Dubai

Process

STEP 1: Trade name STEP 2: Initial approval Follow up receipt STEP 3: Approval from Municipality and Initial approval from Ministry of Economy STEP 4: MOA signing STEP 5: Ejari submission (Warehouse is mandatory) STEP 6: Payment Voucher and License STEP 7: License

Required Documents

• It requires a share capital of AED 250,000 to be deposited in the bank account/ Audit report mentioning the same
• A bank letter stating the share capital has been deposited
• Factory / Warehouse Location
• Copy Of Industrial License Issued By Local Department
• Copy of passport and residence for non-citizens, and summary of the registration of the citizen
• Copy Of Balance Sheet
• Ministry Of Health Approval (needs to be checked what are the requirements)
• Trade License
• Ministry Of Environment And Water Approval
• Ministry Of Interior Approval (Civil Defence Approval)
• Other external departments approval (based on type of industry)

This blog is written by Ms. Anushka Singh, Partner Relation Executive at Flyingcolour Business Setup, VAT and Accounting Services, Dubai. If you have any questions regarding manufacturing license in UAE then please contact us at +971 4 4542366 or email us at info[at]flyingcolour[dot]com. *Please Note: This article was published on 21st December 2020. The information provided in the article is based on the policies and rules applicable at the time of writing it. Talk to one of our consultants for any recent update or change.