Medical Equipment Trading in UAE

“Health is wealth” Every country in this world tries to provide the best health care infrastructure to protect its people from diseases and various health issues. Government tries to make sure that it’s citizens are safe under the most challenging situations and get the latest technology medical products to their people. The medical equipments help in diagnosing the disease and act as a bridge between the medical experts and the patients. In UAE, the Ministry of Health and Prevention plays an important role for the import and export of the medical equipments. It makes sure that every product is registered and only the registered products are allowed to be distributed within the country.

Increase in Demand for Medical Equipments Trading

• Covid-19 has increased the demand for the requirement and supply of the medical equipments. Now, the demand from healthcare centers is on rise for medical equipments such as testing kits, Masks, Sanitizers, PPE suits, Ventilators, face shield, alcohol rapid test, Medical waste containers, Gloves, Infrared thermometer and etc.

Process to obtain the license for Medical Equipment Trading

1. Trade name approval
2. Court Signatures
3. Final Submission
4. Issuance of License
5. Obtaining of the import export code for the trading of products

Cost for obtaining the license

• The license issued for trading will always be LLC whereby the 51% shares is held by the UAE National and 49% by the expat. A protection side agreement is provided for this to protect your interests
• License fees approximately AED 14,000
• Foreign Trade Name AED 2,000

The license can be obtained on a desk/office facility. You can also rent a warehouse , based on your requirement.

Documents required:

1. Passport Copy
2. Visa status
3. 3 trade name options
4. Ejari/Desk Agreement

Important Guidelines on Importing Medical Devices

1. The principal legislation that governs the imports and sale of medical devices in UAE is the Pharmacy Law.
2. Ministry of Health is the main authority that monitors and registers the medical devices to be imported or exported in the UAE.
3. The companies should always have a valid license and permit to ensure any kind of trading of these medical devices.
4. The required documents to obtain the approval from the Ministry of Health (MOH) will be as below: 
   • Letters of regulatory approval
   • Clearance certificate to sell the and distribute the product from exporting country
   • Certified free sale certificate
5. Apart from the above mentioned documents additional documents like the audit plan, details for the usage of the product, the clear instructions, and precautions before and after usage of the product or the devices will clearly need to be specified
6. Sometimes in the cases of emergency situation to save the life the MOH will exempt from the rules and regulations that would apply

This blog is written by Ms. Florine Das, Director (Client Relationship) at Flyingcolour Business Setup, Accounting & Tax Services in Dubai & across UAE . Feel free to call us for more info about medical equipment trading license in UAE. You can also send your inquiry to info[at]flyingcolour[dot]com or call +971 4 4542366. Please Note: This article was published on 12th September,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.