AED 10,000 Late Registration Penalty: How the FTA Waiver Works (2026)

Under Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023, failing to submit a corporate tax registration application within the FTA's deadlines (set by FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, based on license issuance month) carries a fixed administrative penalty of AED 10,000. Hundreds of thousands of entities registered on time; a large tail did not — the FTA has reported tens of thousands of waiver beneficiaries since the initiative began.

One condition, per the FTA's published guidance: submit your first corporate tax return (or, for exempt persons required to register, the annual declaration) within 7 months of the end of your first tax period — instead of the usual 9. Meet it and the waiver applies automatically. No reconsideration request, no waiver application, no discretion.

The waiver covers every configuration of the problem. Penalized, not yet paid → file first return within 7 months of period end → penalty cancelled. Penalized and paid → file first return within 7 months of period end → amount credited to your EmaraTax account (usable against tax or refundable on application). Never registered at all → register now, then file within the 7-month window → penalty waived when imposed.

First tax period ended 31 December 2025 → file by 31 July 2026 for the waiver. Filing in August or September 2026 is still on time for the return itself but loses the waiver — an AED 10,000 cost of two months' delay. First periods ending on other dates follow the same 7-month arithmetic. The waiver applies only to the first tax period.

It is specific to the late registration penalty. Late filing penalties (AED 500/month), late payment penalties (14% per annum), and record-keeping penalties are untouched by it. For those, the routes are reconsideration requests and, where grounds exist, escalation — see our fines advisory service /tax/tax-fines-advisory →.