Start an Import and Export Business in Dubai (2026): Licence, Customs Duty, Free Zone Sales and the Product Approval Matrix

To start an import and export business in Dubai you need a trading licence (mainland or free zone) covering your goods, a Dubai Customs code, and, for regulated products, approval from the right regulator before shipping. Goods from outside the GCC pay 5% duty when they enter the UAE market.

This guide is for traders who know what they want to sell and need to know what stands between the supplier and a UAE customer. It is part of our guide to starting a business in the UAE and covers where to base the company, which regulator owns your product, duty and VAT, and selling onshore from a free zone.

The licence and the customs registration each have their own guide on this site, linked in the next section, so this page summarises them rather than repeating them.

What do you need before you can import into Dubai?

Three things, from easiest to hardest:

• A trading licence. General trading covers a broad range of goods; a specific trading activity covers one product group. Our general trading licence guide covers the scope, the DET fees and the goods excluded from general trading.
• A customs code. Dubai Customs’ “Request Business Registration” service costs AED 100 plus the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee and takes one working day, with the code sent by email. Documents, renewal and the first declaration are covered in our Dubai Customs code guide.
• Product approvals. This is where new importers lose weeks. A licence that mentions “foodstuff” or “cosmetics” registers no products. Each product, often each size, needs its own registration, and several regulators only accept applications from companies holding a specific activity or their own licence.

Which regulator approves my product? The product approval matrix

The table maps each product group to the authority that approves it, who may apply and the official service time. Fees are in the costs section. All checked on the regulators’ own pages on 3 October 2026.

Food

Dubai Municipality’s sequence is: UAE Pass account, company registration, registration and label assessment of each item (one item per application; different weights are different items), then a consignment application and port inspection. You must be able to produce a government health certificate from the country of origin for every item, and a Halal certificate from a UAE-recognised body for meat and its derivatives. Unregistered items are left at the port. DM also asks each importer to name a Food Trade Person in Charge, who qualifies through DM’s three-day course.

Cosmetics and personal care

Montaji asks for product artwork, an ingredients report, an accredited lab report and, for imports, a government Free Sale Certificate from the country of origin. Variants can share one application, but a new size launched later needs a new one. Goods imported only for re-export, samples or exhibitions use the no-fee Consumer Products Listing service instead.

Medical devices, pesticides and agricultural goods

EDE was established on 29 September 2023, and MOHAP has announced the transfer to it of product registration and import and export permits for medicines and medical equipment. A device file needs, among other things, a free sale certificate, the agency contract with the manufacturer and a conformity certificate such as CE, 510(k) or PMA. Pesticide registration and the agricultural inputs trading licence are also EDE services now; the licence requires an agricultural engineer and suitable storage. MOCCAE’s permit for seeds, plants and bees must be obtained before shipment and is valid for six months.

Gold and precious metals

MOET’s March 2026 guidance, under Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, requires a Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones Report (DPMSR) for cash deals with individuals, and cash or wire deals with companies, at or above AED 55,000. DMCC’s Rules for Risk Based Due Diligence in the Gold and Precious Metals Supply Chain (Version 2/2020) are mandatory for its accredited members, with independent audits and annual reporting.

Where should an import and export company be based?

Selling to customers across the UAE points to the mainland. Holding stock for re-export, or trading commodities, points to a free zone. The table describes fit rather than prices; each zone’s guide has its published fees.

If you are still weighing the two models, our comparison of free zone and mainland companies in Dubai covers visas, quota and tax side by side.

Can a free zone company sell to customers in Dubai?

Not directly by default. The UAE government portal says that to sell goods or services locally, a free zone company must work through a licensed mainland distributor or set up a mainland branch or company, and that goods become subject to customs duty when they enter the mainland market.

Dubai added a third option. Executive Council Resolution No. (11) of 2025, in force from 3 March 2025, lets the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) authorise a free zone establishment to work in Dubai outside its zone through:

• a licence for a branch within the emirate;
• a licence for a branch operating out of the free zone, valid for one year and renewable, at AED 10,000 a year; or
• a permit to conduct specific activities, valid for up to six months, at AED 5,000.

It excludes financial establishments licensed in the DIFC and requires separate financial records for work outside the zone. The Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit, announced by the Dubai Media Office on 8 October 2025, is for free zone companies holding a Dubai Unified Licence, applied for on the Invest in Dubai platform; its first phase covers non-regulated activities including trading.

How much customs duty will I pay?

The GCC Customs Union, in force since 1 January 2003, applies a common external tariff of 5% on foreign goods imported from outside the union, collected at the first point of entry. The UAE government portal states that Dubai charges 5% of the CIF (cost, insurance and freight) value, 50% on alcohol and 100% on cigarettes, and that goods originating in GCC countries are treated as UAE local goods, provided that at least 40% of the raw materials used in making them originate in the GCC.

In practice, goods held in a free zone pay no duty while they stay there, pay duty when cleared to a UAE mainland customer, and do not enter the UAE market at all if re-exported. Declarations and HS classification are covered in our customs code guide.

What does the Commercial Agencies Law mean for importers?

The law is Federal Law No. (3) of 2022 Regulating Commercial Agencies, issued on 13 December 2022. It covers representing a principal under a contract of agency, distribution, sale, offer or concession for a commission or profit. Four points matter:

• Who can be a registered agent. Article 2 limits commercial agency business to UAE citizens and to companies wholly owned by citizens or by public legal persons. Public joint stock companies with at least 51% citizen shareholding are carved out, and the Cabinet may allow an international company to act as agent for its own products in limited cases.
• Registration. Article 3 says agency business may only be carried on by those listed in the Ministry’s Commercial Agencies Register, and an unregistered agency “shall not be valid”.
• Territory. Under Article 7 a principal may appoint one agent for the whole UAE, or one per emirate, and the agent may use a distributor.
• Parallel imports. Article 20 says goods covered by a registered agency may not be imported for trading other than through the agent, and customs may not release them without the approval of the Ministry or the agent.

So a foreign-owned trading company can buy and resell under an ordinary supply contract but cannot hold a registered agency itself, and before importing a branded product you should check whether it already has a registered agent. MOET also lists implementing Cabinet Decisions No. 82, 83 and 89 of 2023. Take legal advice before signing an exclusive agreement.

Approvals checklist before your first shipment

• Licence activity matches the goods (general trading, or a specific activity such as foodstuff or telecom equipment trading).
• Dubai Customs code issued and the correct business type selected.
• Regulator account opened: DM company registration (food or Montaji), TDRA supplier registration, MOIAT e-services profile, or EDE establishment licence as applicable.
• Each product registered, or listed for re-export, before it ships.
• Supplier documents in hand: free sale certificate, health certificate, Halal certificate, test reports to UAE standards, manufacturer authorisation letter.
• Agency check done for branded goods.
• VAT registration assessed (imports count towards the threshold).
• For gold and precious stones: goAML registration and a customer due diligence process.

Steps and a realistic timeline

What are the official fees for product approvals?

Government fees from each authority’s service page, checked 3 October 2026. The licence, rent, lab testing abroad, attestation, clearing agents and our professional fees are not included and are not government fees.

Visas and hiring

Visa quota follows the licence and premises, mainland or free zone. Warehouse, driving and sales staff need work permits and residence visas in the usual way; our UAE employment visa cost breakdown lists every fee line. Food importers in Dubai should plan for an employee to take DM’s Food Trade Person in Charge course.

VAT and corporate tax for importers and exporters

• VAT registration. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) makes registration mandatory when taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 over 12 months, or will within 30 days, and voluntary above AED 187,500.
• Import VAT. The FTA’s Taxable Person Guide applies the reverse charge when a VAT-registered person imports goods, so the VAT goes through your return.
• Exports. A direct or indirect export of goods to outside the GCC implementing states is zero-rated, so you can still recover VAT on your costs.
• Corporate tax. 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above. Small Business Relief for revenue up to AED 3 million has been extended to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 by Ministerial Decision No. 131 of 2026.
• Free zone traders. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, which replaced Ministerial Decision No. 265 of 2023, treats “distribution of goods or materials in or from a Designated Zone” as qualifying only where goods are imported through the Designated Zone and sold to a customer who resells or processes them, or to a public benefit entity. Sales to end consumers do not fit, and not every free zone is a Designated Zone.

Deadlines, EmaraTax steps and penalties are in our corporate tax and VAT registration guide. Exporters who need certificates of origin should also read our Dubai Chamber membership guide.

Common mistakes that delay or block an import business

• Shipping before registering. Unregistered food items are left at the port.
• Assuming one emirate’s approval covers the UAE. A Montaji certificate is valid only in Dubai.
• Choosing a licence the regulator does not recognise. TDRA wants a telecommunications activity on the licence; EDE wants its own establishment licence for medical devices and pesticides; DM wants an activity related to the product.
• Treating a free zone as a route to UAE customers. Without a distributor, branch or DET permit, a free zone company cannot sell onshore.
• Buying stock of a brand with a registered agent. Customs can hold goods covered by a registered commercial agency that arrive through anyone else.
• Supplier documents built for another market. Labels, food additives and test reports are checked against UAE and GCC standards, not the supplier’s home rules.
• Ignoring the AED 55,000 reporting line in gold. MOET says the DPMSR obligation is not risk-dependent and applies even when due diligence found nothing unusual.
• Selling online without checking the e-commerce rules. See our e-commerce business setup guide.

Questions people ask