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Free Zone Audit Services
Free zone audits that keep your licence and your 0% tax rate secure
Most UAE free zone companies need an annual audit for two separate reasons. Your free zone authority requires audited financial statements, signed by an auditor it accepts, before it renews your trade licence. And under UAE Corporate Tax, every Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare and keep audited financial statements, whatever its revenue, to benefit from the 0% rate on qualifying income.
RSM UAE audits free zone companies under International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), plans the work around your free zone renewal date and Corporate Tax filing deadline, and gives you a readiness checklist so year-end runs without surprises.
Note: 0% applies to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person; 9% is the standard Corporate Tax rate on taxable income above AED 375,000 under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. These are regulatory figures.
Two Audit Frames for Free Zone Companies
Frame 1 is the audit your free zone authority asks for at licence renewal. Frame 2 is the audit Corporate Tax requires, most importantly for Qualifying Free Zone Persons. One well-planned audit can meet both, as long as it is scoped with both sets of rules in mind.
Rules
The companies regulations of each free zone authority, for example DMCC, JAFZA, DAFZA, Dubai South and DSO in Dubai, and the free zones of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah
Applies to
Companies and branches licensed in a UAE free zone, including most dormant and newly incorporated entities
Requires
Annual financial statements prepared under IFRS and audited by an auditor registered with, or approved by, that free zone · submission to the authority as part of licence renewal
Key dates
Set by each free zone, commonly within 90 to 180 days of the financial year end · check the current rule for your zone
Consequence
Late or missing audited accounts can delay licence renewal and lead to fines set by the free zone authority
Our services for this frame
■ Statutory audit of free zone companies and branches under ISAs
■ Audits timed to your free zone licence renewal date
■ IFRS financial statement preparation support
■ Audits of dormant and newly incorporated entities
■ Group reporting packs for parent companies and lenders
■ Agreed-upon procedures and special purpose reports requested by free zone authorities
Law
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on Corporate Tax · Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 on Audited Financial Statements (tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2025; Ministerial Decision No. 82 of 2023 applies to earlier periods)
Applies to
Every Qualifying Free Zone Person, whatever its revenue · other taxable persons with revenue above AED 50 million in the tax period · all Tax Groups (audited special purpose financial statements)
Requires
Audited financial statements prepared and kept for the Federal Tax Authority · for QFZPs, also adequate substance in the free zone, qualifying income, the de minimis test and arm’s length transfer pricing
Key dates
Corporate Tax return and payment due within 9 months of the end of the tax period · audited financial statements should be final before the return is filed
Consequence
A free zone company that fails a QFZP condition, including keeping audited financial statements, loses QFZP status: the standard 9% rate applies for that tax period and the following four
Our services for this frame
■ Audits that meet Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025
■ Qualifying Free Zone Person status reviews before year end
■ Qualifying and non-qualifying income analysis and de minimis testing
■ Audit of special purpose financial statements for Tax Groups
■ Transfer pricing documentation alongside the audit, with our tax team
■ Corporate Tax return support, coordinated with the audit timetable
Is Your Free Zone Company Ready for Year-End Audit?
Work through the checklist for each frame that applies to you. Anything you can’t tick confidently is where planning should start.
Frame 1 — Free Zone Authority Audit
☐ Do you know your free zone’s deadline for submitting audited financial statements?
☐ Is your auditor registered with, or approved by, your free zone authority?
☐ Are your books closed and reconciled within a few weeks of year end?
☐ Are your financial statements prepared under IFRS?
☐ Are related party balances and transactions documented and agreed?
☐ Is your licence renewal date planned around the audit timetable?
Frame 2 — Corporate Tax & QFZP
☐ Have you confirmed whether your company is a Qualifying Free Zone Person?
☐ Do you have audited financial statements for every tax period you claim the 0% rate?
☐ Is your income split into qualifying and non-qualifying, and tested against the de minimis limits?
☐ Do you have adequate substance (people, premises, activities) in the free zone?
☐ Are related party transactions priced at arm’s length and documented?
☐ Will your audit be signed off before your Corporate Tax return is due?
Why Choose RSM UAE?
RSM UAE brings a global audit methodology and local free zone experience to every engagement. Expand each reason below.
Let’s plan your free zone audit before the deadline arrives.
Reach our Audit team directly, or send us a message using the enquiry form below.
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