Your VAT and Corporate Tax registrations are living records. When your trade licence, activities, ownership, signatory, address or bank account changes, the FTA must be notified — in most cases within 20 business days. Miss it and you face a distinct penalty of AED 5,000, rising to AED 10,000 for repeat violations, entirely separate from filing and payment penalties.
Amendment, not re-registration
An amendment updates the details held behind your existing TRN on EmaraTax. Your TRN does not change. Simple contact updates take effect immediately; substantive changes — licence, legal type, activities, ownership, banking, tax group — go through FTA review with supporting documents.
What must be notified
- Trade name or legal name
- Trade licence number, expiry or issuing authority
- Business activities and customs registration numbers
- Legal type (for example, sole establishment converting to an LLC)
- Shareholders, partners, managers and ownership percentages
- Authorised signatory and Power of Attorney
- Registered address and branches
- Bank account (IBAN) held in the entity's own name
- Financial year / tax period, subject to FTA approval
Why stale data causes real damage
- VAT refunds are only paid to a registered bank account in the taxable person's name — an old IBAN blocks them
- An expired licence on file can cause EmaraTax submissions to be rejected
- An outdated signatory means nobody can validly file returns, disclosures or reconsiderations
- Mismatched activities or turnover bands invite FTA audit queries
- Ownership changes affect tax grouping, related-party disclosures and QFZP status
- Wrong contact details mean penalty notices are missed and the 40-business-day appeal window expires
A financial year change moves your Corporate Tax deadlines. Recheck them with the calculator at /calculators/ct-first-return-due-date.
Documents required
- Current and amended trade licence
- MOA / AOA and any amendment addendum
- Passport and Emirates ID of owners and the authorised signatory
- Power of Attorney or board resolution for signatory changes
- Tenancy contract / Ejari for address changes
- Bank IBAN letter in the entity's name
- Customs code certificate where import/export activities are added
Timelines you should plan for
- Notify the FTA within 20 business days of the change
- Submission preparation: 2–5 working days once documents are complete
- FTA approval: typically 5–20 business days for reviewable changes
- Contact detail updates: effective immediately
Do both registrations
VAT and Corporate Tax are separate records on EmaraTax. A licence, ownership or signatory change should be reflected in both, otherwise one profile contradicts the other — a pattern FTA reviewers notice quickly. Where the original registration itself contained errors (wrong turnover band, missing branches, wrong legal type), an amendment fixes it, and we assess separately whether returns already filed need a voluntary disclosure.
Send your amended licence — we file the EmaraTax update within days
Talk to a Tax Easy UAE specialist — transparent pricing, FTA-aligned filings.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to common UAE compliance questions.
This article is for general guidance only and reflects FTA rules as of September 2026. Always confirm your specific position with a qualified UAE tax advisor.