Legislation Overview
- Title: Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register - Type: Federal Decree-Law - Issued Date: 20 Sep 2021 - Effective Date: 27 Mar 2022 - Sector: Economy and Business - Number of Articles: 48 - Status: Active
Summary
This Federal Decree-Law regulates the use of the Commercial Register and Economic Register in the United Arab Emirates. It establishes the requirements and procedures for registering, updating, and deregistering businesses and economic activities in the UAE. The law aims to provide a unified and accurate database of all licensed economic activities in the country. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Arts. 1-2)
What is the scope and purpose of this law?
The law applies to all persons practicing any economic activity in the UAE, including companies, civil companies, government-owned entities, professional firms, foreign company branches, and commercial sole proprietorships. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 3) The law's objectives are to regulate the use of the Commercial and Economic Registers and provide a unified database of traders and licensed economic activities in the UAE. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 2)
What are the key definitions?
The law defines several key terms, including: - "State": The United Arab Emirates (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 1) - "Ministry": The Ministry of Economy (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 1) - "Competent Authority": The local government entity or free zone authority that issues business licenses (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 1) - "Economic Activity": Commercial, industrial, tourism, media, and other licensed economic activities in the UAE (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 1) - "Commercial Register": A database maintained by the Competent Authority containing the names and data of persons subject to the law (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 1) - "Economic Register": A database maintained by the Ministry containing the data from the Commercial Register and other economic information (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 1)
What are the main obligations and requirements?
The key obligations under this law include: 1. Persons subject to the law must register their economic activity in the Commercial Register with the Competent Authority. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 5) 2. Registered persons must apply to update the Commercial Register for any changes to their registration data. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 6) 3. Registered persons must renew their registration in the Commercial Register as per the procedures in the Executive Regulations. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 7) 4. Registered persons must include their Commercial Register Number on business documents and display their Registration Certificate as required. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 8)
What are the rights and protections?
The law does not specify any explicit rights or protections granted to persons registered in the Commercial Register. The focus of the law is on the obligations and procedures for registration, updating, and deregistration.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
This legislation does not include specific provisions on penalties for non-compliance.
How does this law interact with other UAE legislation?
The law references several other UAE federal laws, including: - Federal Law No. (5) of 1975 Concerning the Commercial Register - Federal Law No. (32) of 2021 Concerning the Commercial Companies - Federal Decree Law No. (9) of 2016 Concerning Bankruptcy - Federal Decree Law No. (19) of 2019 Concerning Insolvency (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Preamble)
When did this law come into effect and what are the transitional provisions?
This Federal Decree-Law came into effect on 27 March 2022. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register, 2021, Art. 24) The legislation does not specify any transitional provisions.
Source Documents
This article analyses Federal Decree by Law Concerning The Commercial Register for legal research and educational purposes. For the purpose of interpretation and application, reference must be made to the original Arabic text. In case of conflict, the Arabic text prevails. This does not constitute legal advice.