JAFZA / Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority | All you need to know

JAFZA / Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority | All you need to know April 20, 2020

JAFZA / Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority is one of the most glorified free zones in the whole United Arab Emirates, which contributes 23.8 percent to Dubai’s GDP and provides livelihood to 135,000 people.

At JAFZA, there are more than 7000 established companies. Out of those seven thousand Jebel Ali Free Zone companies, approximately a hundred hold position amongst Fortune Global 500.

The UAE is directed towards lowering the dependence on oil for the country’s growth. For that reason,

these Free Zones were established, which attract foreign direct investment. Through JAFZA, the nation gets 32% of its foreign direct investment, which makes it a vital part of the country’s economy.

The reason why JAFZA receives such attraction lies in the legal framework, location, and facilities of the

Jebel Ali free zone. Jebel Ali Free Zone Companies get a chance to connect with global leaders and create a great network. Dubai is highly supportive of enterprise development, and JAFZA offers the most favorable place not only to connect business but also to live.

JAFZA Company Formation JAFZA provides you direct access to a market that holds more than 3.5 billion customers. If you set up your business in JAFZA, it will help you to grow your global presence. There are several elements of a

company, but the JAFZA free zone has strived to simplify things for investors. It has primarily bifurcated aspects of a company into three major parts, which will help an investor to start and run his company in JAFZA.

1. Formation 2. License

3. Activity

Let’s have an elaborated view of the following aspects.

Types of companies you can set up in JAFZA There are four primary types of Jebel Ali Free Zone Companies one can register in JAFZA Dubai. You can choose the one as per your requirements and planning. Every company type serves its special needs based upon the various priorities of individuals setting up their business.

1. Free Zone Establishment (FZE)

When a Free Zone Establishment (FZE) company formation takes place in Jebel Ali Free Zone, the owner can be a person or a company. It’s a limited liability company and has its rights, capacity, and privileges.

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The interesting thing about an FZE is, it allows a single shareholder to own the company.

Free Zone Company (FZCo)

Free Zone Company (FZCo) is suitable when there are going to be multiple shareholders up to fifty. An

individual or a company any of them can be a shareholder. It is a limited liability company that provides surety to the individuals setting up the company.

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Public Listed Company (PLC) An individual can’t own a Public Listed Company (PLC). It must have two or more shareholders and

need to have the shares on a stock exchange as per the market rules and regulations. As it is a Public 

Listed company, it provides security by limiting the liabilities of a company.

Branch of a Company

The parent company has 100% ownership of the branch of the company. Therefore, it works under the same name and conducts the same business as the parent company. Any company which is established outside Jebel Ali Free Zone can set up a branch company at JAFZA Dubai.

Different Activities and Type of Licenses There are various types of licenses offered by JAFZA Free Zone, out of which you can choose the ones

which are required for your business-related activities. Primarily, there are licenses based upon three   

major categories, which are trading, services, and industrial.

Trading Activity in JAFZA: When a business requires conducting trading related activities, it can get Trading or General Trading License.

Service Activity in JAFZA: The companies which only deal with services only require getting a service license.

Industrial Activity in JAFZA: Under this, activities related to manufacturing come, which need to perform the export, import, manufacturing, and logistics-related activities.

Based on these three activity types, seven different licenses are introduced: 1. Trading License

In this license, you need to specify the products which you are going to import, export, or distribute. You will only be able to conduct these activities after getting the license. If an item is not specified on the

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license, conducting these activities will not be allowed.

General Trading License

For getting permission for a broader range of activities and products, one needs to get a General Trading 

License.

Service License As the name suggests, if your company deals with any services, you need to get this license. One should

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note that there is only one license in the service category which covers everything.

Industrial License

The Industrial License is required when you require the manufacturing of products. This license allows

the import of raw material, undertaking manufacturing activity, and export of finished goods. One needs to specify the raw materials that he has to import and products that he intends to manufacture and 

export.

National Industrial License It is a unique license which is not provided according to the activities and products, but according to the company’s ownership. It is provided to the manufacturing companies, which at least own 51 percent

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GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) ownership.

Logistics License

There are various services associated with logistics, and if you wish to conduct them in JAFZA Dubai, you

first need to get Logistic License. This license will allow you to perform storage, distribution, forwarding, 

inventory management, transportation, etc. activities.

E-Commerce License

Most of the companies in today’s world have an e-commerce platform to boost their sales. If you conduct any buying and selling activities online in Jebel Ali Free Zone, you need to have an e-commerce license that provides you its permit.

Steps to Register a Business in JAFZA Dubai Jebel Ali Free Zone has made the JAFZA Company Formation process facile to make it trouble-free for

businesses to get started. It is also one of the reasons why businesses prefer the JAFZA free zone as the process doesn’t require them to put huge efforts. Also, it doesn’t consume much of their time. These three primary steps will guide you to turn your business on in JAFZA:

1) Submission of Application As it is in any process, the submission of the application form is the first task to take into consideration.

While setting up a business in JAFZA Dubai, one needs to submit the application as well as documents

for verification. One also needs to take approval from the various government bodies for the activity the business is going to perform. Besides that, trade name registration is also conducted in this step.

2) Product Selection, Company Registration, and making the payment

It is necessary that first, you select the products and services with which your business is going on the deal. Then sign and attest memorandum along with the articles of association.

After this is done, you need to perform all the primary payments, which are lease fee, registration fee, license fee, ad processing fee.

Finally, you sign all the documents, and you are done with it. However, the registration department     

collects some documents which are as follows: Share Register AoA and MoA

Certificate of Formation License Copy

A Letter for the Bank (account opening) 3) Receive License and Products

Finally, you will receive the product key from JAFZA. You need to register on Dubai Trade Online Portal and activate your account.

Benefits of setting up a business at JAFZA As JAFZA has attracted many renowned companies, it provides a platform to connect with other players in the industry. Moreover, the function of the Jebel Ali Free Zone Companies, the tax payment

requirement, and the legal framework is lenient to let the companies move forward without any growth restrictions. The facility it offers makes JAFZA one of the best locations not only to own a fruitful

business but also to live. These are some of the highlighted benefits of one opting to go for JAFZA          

Company Formation:

Easily set up a JAFZA Company in the quickest possible time No restriction on Capital Repatriation 0% import or re-export duties 0% personal income tax No currency restriction

No restriction on employees and foreign talents On-site customs

Completely own the company; no local sponsor required.

0% corporate tax for fifty years and get a renewable concession on it

Ability to mortgage the premises (minus the land) as a security for the borrowing needs

Know about JAFZA’s properties and solutions JAFZA is known for its infrastructure as it has a wide range of specifically designed buildings ready to accommodate a variety of businesses and their needs.

JAFZA One- A unique commercial complex

The JAFZA One is located in the heart of JAFZA and known as the one-stop solution for fulfilling

comprehensive requirements. It has more than 100 offices and a total leasable area over 100,000 square meters.

Plots for constructing own facility

A wide range of plots is available in JAFZA with different sizes. It is suitable for companies which require constructing their own facilities. The plots have road infrastructure ready, and you get electricity, water, and telecommunication services with the leased land.

Warehouses

The warehouses offered by JAFZA are suitable for the industries which require huge storage areas. The warehouse has inbuilt offices and has basic as well as advanced level facilities such as ramps, loading dock, fire exits, etc.

Showrooms with alluring infrastructure You get additional space at the rear end of the warehouse, having a glass façade that can be used as a showroom. All the showrooms are air-conditioned and are available in a wide range of sizes.

Offices delivering efficient work environment

JAFZA Dubai offers unfurnished offices that have state-of-the-art spaces suitable for any company to

customize the office as per their requirements. It provides flexible leasing solutions where you can rent a floor or choose to rent the complete building. Depending upon the company’s needs, the offices of various sizes are offered to have a range from 25sqm to 5000sqm.

Retail Outlets at prime locations

There are retail outlets spread all across the free zone for people working as well as living in JAFZA.

From the retail outlets, you can directly sell your products to the people and reach the market. There are specific food outlets available for rent, having different sizes, and a variety of locations.

On-site residence with premium facilities

JAFZA is designed with futuristic thinking, and for that reason, a huge accommodation facility is included in JAFZA, where 10000 rooms are made available. These have all the basic amenities suitable for your employees, providing them perfect work-life balance.

JAFZA Company Formation : FAQs 1) What are the key sectors of the Jebel Ali Free Zone?

Key sectors of Jebel Ali Free Zone are: a) Logistics

b) Automotive and spare parts

c) Food and agriculture commodities d) Petrochemicals

e) Retail & E-commerce

2) What are the essential documents that need to be provided by all the applicants for setting up a business in JAFZA?

Every individual has to provide the following documents for JAFZA Company Formation: • JAFZA application form

• Project plus shareholder(s) summary

• No Objection Certificate from the local sponsor, applicable to UAE resident only • Environment Health and Safety (EHS) application form

• Passport/Emirates ID copy of manager, directors, and secretary

3) What are the official fees for various licenses in JAFZA Dubai?

Fees for various licenses are as follows:

– Trading License – Type 1 (7 products max from one group) : AED 5,000 pa

– Trading License – Type 2 (12 products max from two groups) : AED 8,500 pa – General Trading : AED 15,000 pa – Service License : AED 5,000 pa

– Logistics License : AED15,000 pa

– Industrial License – Type 1 (7 products max from one group) : AED 5,000 pa

– Industrial License – Type 2 (12 products max from two groups) : AED 8,500 pa

4) What are the official fees for various company setups in Jebel Ali Free Zone?

– Free Zone Company (FZCo) : AED 5,000 one time

– Free Zone Establishment (FZE) : AED 5,000 one time – Branch of a Company : AED 5,000 one time

N R Doshi & Partners’ Company Formation Services N R Doshi and Partners offer company formation service in any of the parts of the UAE. Whether it is a free zone or mainland, we have experience in setting up offices in all the emirates.

Similarly, we have set up offices in JAFZA as well, which is a prime location of businesses involved in manufacturing, trades, and services. We take care of the JAFZA Company Formation process from submission of the application to registering your company in Jebel Ali Free Zone. We also assist

companies in getting work visas for their employees. We also look over the bank account opening process for your company as well as the employees.

We also provide our services as JAFZA Business Setup Consultants and help you with JAFZA Offshore Company Formation in UAE. Moreover, we are recognized by JAFZA offshore as a ‘Top Performing

Offshore Consultant’ 2013 and ‘Best Strategic Partner’ 2017 and ‘Best Strategic Consultant’ 2019. Please get in touch with us for professional assistance. You can reach us at email enquiries@nrdoshi.ae or use the contact us form.

The first consultation is FREE.

We are also renowned auditors in JAFZA, get the benefit of NRD’s quality company formation services and get started with your business in no time.