Non-Resident Person – Do you have to pay Corporate Tax in UAE???

May 24, 2023Dated:  | |

Who is a Non-Resident Person?

Non-Resident Persons are juridical persons who are not Resident Persons and:

  • have a Permanent Establishment in the UAE; or
  • derive State Sourced Income.


Non-Resident Persons will be subject to Corporate Tax on Taxable Income that is attributable to their Permanent Establishment (which is explained under Section 8).

Certain UAE-sourced income of a Non-Resident Person that is not attributable to a Permanent Establishment in the UAE will be subject to Withholding Tax at the rate of 0%.

Conditions of Temporary and Exceptional Presence in the State

Ministerial Decision No. 83 of 2023 points out the conditions under which the Presence of a Natural Person in the State would not create a Permanent Establishment for a Non-Resident Person

  1. For the purposes of paragraph (a) of Clause 7 of Article 14 of the Corporate Tax Law, the presence of a natural person in the State shall be considered a consequence of a temporary and exceptional situation where all of the following conditions are met:

a) The presence of the natural person in the State is a consequence of exceptional circumstances of a public or private nature.

b) The exceptional circumstances cannot reasonably be predicted by the natural person or the Non-Resident Person.

c) The natural person did not express any intention to remain in the State when the exceptional circumstances end.

d) The Non-Resident Person does not have a Permanent Establishment in the State before the occurrence of the exceptional circumstances.

e) The Non-Resident Person did not consider that the natural person is creating a Permanent Establishment or deriving income in the State as per the tax legislation applicable in other jurisdictions.

2. For the purposes of Clause 1 of this Article, an exceptional circumstance is a situation or an event beyond the natural person’s control, which occurred while he was already in the State, which he could not reasonably predict or prevent, and which prevented him from leaving the State as originally planned, including but not limited to any of the following circumstances:

A) With respect to the exceptional circumstances of a public nature:

i) Adoption of public health measures by the competent authorities in the State or in the jurisdiction of the original workplace or by the World Health Organization.

ii) Imposition of travel restrictions by the competent authorities in the State or in the jurisdiction of the original workplace.

iii) Imposition of legal sanctions on the natural person preventing them from leaving the State’s Territory.

iv) Acts of war or occurrence of terrorist attacks.Occurrence of natural disasters or force majeure beyond reasonable control.

b. With respect to the exceptional circumstances of a private nature:

i) Occurrence of an emergency health condition affecting the natural person or their relatives up to the fourth degree, including by way of adoption or guardianship.

ii) Any other circumstances similar to those provided for in this paragraph as prescribed by the Authority.

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