Cabinet Decision Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2023 Cabinet

CD 55/2023 — Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person (repealed)

Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2023 on Determining Qualifying Income for the Qualifying Free Zone Person for the Purposes of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses

Repealed Issued 30 May 2023 In force from 1 June 2023

Official Arabic text (opens in a new tab) English text (opens in a new tab)

Replaced by CD 100/2023 — Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person from 1 June 2023 — read the current text →

Official Arabic title
قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (55) لسنة 2023 بشأن تحديد الدخل المؤهل للشخص المؤهل القائم في المنطقة الحرة لأغراض المرسوم بقانون اتحادي رقم (47) لسنة 2022 في شأن الضريبة على الشركات والأعمال
Document type
Cabinet Decision
Number
55
Issued by
Cabinet
Administered by
Federal Tax Authority
Issued
30 May 2023
In force from
1 June 2023
Applies to
Qualifying Free Zone Persons (Art. 2).
Current position
Repealed by Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023 (Art. 10), issued 25 October 2023 with effect from 1 June 2023 — the same start date as this decision; CD 100/2023 contains no carry-over clause for it.
Topics
Corporate Tax · Free zones
Official text
Official Arabic text · English text

Factual summary

Was the first Cabinet decision defining Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person under Article 18 of the Corporate Tax Law: income from other Free Zone Persons that are the Beneficial Recipient, income from Non-Free Zone Persons only for Qualifying Activities, incidental income, and other income within de minimis limits left to the Minister. Income of domestic or foreign permanent establishments and certain Free Zone real estate income was taxed under Article 3(2)(b) of the law. It also required adequate substance in a Free Zone and allowed outsourcing only within a Free Zone; unlike its replacement it had no separate category for qualifying intellectual property income.

What it means in practice Professional insight

Who: free zone companies reviewing positions taken under the first 2023 rules. What to check: whether any position relied on this text, and the corresponding rules now in Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023.

Key provisions

  • Art. 1 Qualifying Activities and Excluded Activities are the activities determined by a decision issued by the Minister from which Qualifying Income or non-Qualifying Income is derived; a Domestic Permanent Establishment is a place of business or other form of presence of a Qualifying Free Zone Person outside the Free Zone in the State; Commercial Property is immovable property used exclusively for a Business or Business Activity and not used as a place of residence or accommodation.
  • Art. 3(1)–(4) For Art. 18 of the Corporate Tax Law, Qualifying Income includes income from transactions with other Free Zone Persons (except from Excluded Activities), income from transactions with a Non-Free Zone Person only in respect of Qualifying Activities that are not Excluded Activities, and any other income if the de minimis requirements are met — unless attributable to a Domestic or Foreign Permanent Establishment or to immovable property under Art. 6; the Free Zone Person must be the Beneficial Recipient, and income incidental to those categories is included.
  • Art. 4 The de minimis requirements are met where non-qualifying Revenue in a Tax Period does not exceed a percentage of total Revenue or an amount specified by the Minister, whichever is lower; non-qualifying Revenue is Revenue from Excluded Activities and from non-Qualifying Activities with a Non-Free Zone Person, and Revenue from the Free Zone immovable property transactions in Art. 6 and of permanent establishments is left out of both figures.
  • Arts. 5, 6 Income attributable to a Domestic or Foreign Permanent Establishment, calculated as if the establishment were a separate and independent Related Party, and income from Free Zone immovable property from transactions with Non-Free Zone Persons in respect of Commercial Property or with any Person in respect of other property, is Taxable Income taxed under Art. 3(2)(b) of the Corporate Tax Law.
  • Art. 7 A Qualifying Free Zone Person must undertake its core income-generating activities in a Free Zone with adequate assets, an adequate number of qualified employees and adequate operating expenditures; activities may be outsourced to a Related Party or a third party in a Free Zone with adequate supervision.
  • Arts. 8, 9 The Minister issues the implementing decisions; published in the Official Gazette and effective from 1 June 2023.

What changed

  1. 30 May 2023 Issued
  2. 1 June 2023 In force
  3. 1 June 2023 Replaced by CD 100/2023 — Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person: Repeals Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2023 (Art. 10); this decision takes effect from 1 June 2023 (Art. 11).

Relationship chain

Law → decisions made under it → amendments → guidance and announcements; oldest first within each level.

  1. 3 October 2022 Federal Decree-Law FDL 47/2022 — Corporate Tax Law In force — amended
    1. 30 December 2022 Cabinet Decision CD 116/2022 — AED 375,000 rate band — Made under Art. 3(1) In force
    2. 10 March 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 43/2023 — Persons that do not register for Corporate Tax — Made under it In force
    3. 29 March 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 68/2023 — Government Entity businesses treated as a single Taxable Person — Made under Art. 5(6) In force
    4. 3 April 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 73/2023 — Small Business Relief — Made under Art. 21 In force — amended
      1. August 2023 Official guide FTA guide CTGSBR1 — Small Business Relief — Official guide Current version
      2. 29 July 2026 Ministerial Decision MD 131/2026 — SBR extended to 2029 — Amends Art. 2(2) In force
        1. 7 August 2026 Official announcement MoF news 7 Aug 2026 — SBR to 2029 — Announcement Current version
    5. 7 April 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 37/2023 — Qualifying Public Benefit Entities (list updated September 2026) — Made under it In force — amended
    6. 7 April 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 5/2023 — When a Corporate Tax period can be changed — Made under Art. 58 In force
    7. 7 April 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 6/2023 — Deadline to deregister for Corporate Tax — Made under Art. 52(1) In force
    8. 7 April 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 7/2023 — Exempt persons' registration and exemption applications (repealed) — Made under Art. 4(1) Repealed
    9. 10 April 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 82/2023 — Who had to prepare audited financial statements (repealed) — Made under Art. 54(2) Repealed
    10. 10 April 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 83/2023 — When a stranded individual does not create a Permanent Establishment — Made under Art. 14(7)(a) In force
    11. 27 April 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 97/2023 — Who must keep a transfer pricing master file and local file — Made under Art. 55(2) In force
    12. 4 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 105/2023 — When a Person stays exempt, or stops being exempt from a different date — Made under Art. 4(6) In force
    13. 8 May 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 49/2023 — When an individual's business is subject to Corporate Tax — Made under Art. 11(6) In force
    14. 9 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 114/2023 — Accounting standards and the cash basis for Corporate Tax — Made under Art. 20 In force
    15. 10 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 115/2023 — Private pension and social security funds — Made under Art. 4 In force
    16. 10 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 116/2023 — Participation exemption (repealed) — Made under Arts. 23, 24 Repealed
    17. 16 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 120/2023 — Transitional adjustments for assets held before the first Tax Period — Made under Arts. 20, 61 In force
    18. 22 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 125/2023 — Tax Group (repealed) — Made under Arts. 40–42 Repealed
    19. 23 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 126/2023 — General interest deduction limitation rule — Made under Art. 30 In force
    20. 24 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 127/2023 — Unincorporated partnerships, foreign partnerships and family foundations (repealed) — Made under Arts. 16, 17 Repealed
    21. 25 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 132/2023 — Transfers of assets and liabilities within a Qualifying Group — Made under Art. 26 In force
    22. 25 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 133/2023 — Business Restructuring Relief — Made under Art. 27 In force
    23. 29 May 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 134/2023 — General rules for determining Taxable Income — Made under Art. 20 In force
    24. 30 May 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 56/2023 — Non-resident nexus through UAE real estate (repealed) — Made under Arts. 11, 12 Repealed
    25. 30 May 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 55/2023 — Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person (repealed) — Made under Art. 18 Repealed
      1. 1 June 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 139/2023 — Qualifying and excluded activities for free zone persons (repealed) — Made under Arts. 1, 4 Repealed
    26. 10 July 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 75/2023 — Corporate Tax administrative penalties — Made under it In force — amended
      1. 22 February 2024 Cabinet Decision CD 10/2024 — AED 10,000 penalty for late Corporate Tax registration — Amends Art. 1 In force
    27. 18 July 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 81/2023 — Conditions for qualifying investment funds and REITs (repealed) — Made under Art. 10(1) Repealed
    28. 16 August 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 11/2023 — Annual declaration for exempt persons — Made under Art. 53(5) In force
    29. 16 August 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 12/2023 — Tax Groups of government-owned subsidiaries — Made under Art. 40(2) In force
    30. 16 August 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 13/2023 — Converting foreign-currency amounts to AED for Corporate Tax — Made under Art. 43 In force
    31. 25 October 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 100/2023 — Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person — Made under Art. 18 In force
      1. 27 October 2023 Ministerial Decision MD 265/2023 — Qualifying and excluded activities for free zone persons (repealed) — Made under Arts. 4, 7 Repealed
      2. 28 August 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 229/2025 — Qualifying and excluded activities for free zone persons — Made under Arts. 4, 7 In force
        1. 29 August 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 230/2025 — Recognised price reporting agencies for qualifying commodity trading — Made under it In force
        2. 22 December 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 336/2025 — Dubai VARA added as a Competent Authority for free zone fund and wealth management — Made under Art. 1 In force
        3. 2 June 2026 FTA Decision FTA Decision 6/2026 — Free-zone distributors: auditor's agreed-upon procedures report — Made under it In force
    32. 15 December 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 16/2023 — Registering unincorporated partnerships and partners' shares (repealed) — Made under Arts. 16, 51 Repealed
    33. 1 March 2024 FTA Decision FTA Decision 3/2024 — CT registration deadlines — Made under Art. 51(1) In force
    34. 13 August 2024 Public Clarification CTP003 — first Corporate Tax period — Clarifies Arts. 57–58 Current version
    35. 25 September 2024 FTA Decision FTA Decision 7/2024 — First Corporate Tax return and payment deadline moved to 31 December 2024 — Made under Arts. 48, 53 Spent
    36. 28 October 2024 Ministerial Decision MD 261/2024 — Unincorporated partnerships, foreign partnerships and family foundations — Made under Arts. 16, 17 In force
      1. 19 May 2025 FTA Decision FTA Decision 5/2025 — Compliance for partnerships and family foundations — Made under Art. 4(3) In force
    37. 9 December 2024 Ministerial Decision MD 301/2024 — Tax Group rules — Made under Arts. 40–42 In force
    38. 10 December 2024 Ministerial Decision MD 302/2024 — Participation exemption and foreign PE exemption — Made under Arts. 23, 24 In force
    39. 31 December 2024 Cabinet Decision CD 142/2024 — Top-up Tax on multinational enterprises (Pillar Two) — Made under it In force
      1. 28 March 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 88/2025 — OECD commentary and guidance adopted for the UAE top-up tax (repealed) — Made under it Repealed
      2. 22 June 2026 Ministerial Decision MD 96/2026 — Updated OECD commentary and guidance adopted for the UAE top-up tax — Made under it In force
      3. 16 July 2026 FTA Decision FTA Decision 12/2026 — Top-up Tax registration and deregistration — Made under it In force
      4. 3 August 2026 Ministerial Decision MD 133/2026 — Who files the Pillar Two Information Return — Made under it In force
    40. 25 March 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 84/2025 — Who must prepare audited financial statements for Corporate Tax — Made under Art. 54(2) In force
      1. 16 July 2025 FTA Decision FTA Decision 7/2025 — Audited aggregated financial statements for Tax Groups — Made under Art. 2(2) In force
    41. 27 March 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 34/2025 — Qualifying investment funds, REITs and qualifying limited partnerships — Made under Art. 10(1) In force
      1. 14 April 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 96/2025 — 10% minimum free float for REITs listed in May 2025 — Made under Art. 4(1) In force
      2. 18 September 2025 FTA Decision FTA Decision 8/2025 — Compliance deadlines for qualifying investment funds and their investors — Made under Arts. 2, 3, 4 In force
    42. 27 March 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 35/2025 — When a non-resident has a nexus in the UAE — Made under Art. 11(4)(c) In force
    43. 2 May 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 55/2025 — Exemption for foreign entities owned by exempt persons — Made under Art. 4(1) In force
    44. 14 May 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 63/2025 — Unincorporated Partnership taxed in its own right — Made under Art. 16(8) In force
    45. 23 June 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 173/2025 — Depreciation for investment property at fair value — Made under Art. 20(3) In force
    46. 31 December 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 215/2025 — Research and development (R&D) tax credit — Made under it In force
      1. 18 March 2026 Ministerial Decision MD 24/2026 — R&D tax credit rates, qualifying activities and expenditure rules — Made under Arts. 5, 6, 7 In force
    47. 12 January 2026 Cabinet Decision CD 1/2026 — Corporate Tax exemption for certain sports entities — Made under Art. 4(1) In force
    48. 8 September 2026 FTA Decision FTA Decision 15/2026 — Applying for Corporate Tax exemption — Made under Art. 51(2) In force

Official sources

Official Arabic text (opens in a new tab) English text (opens in a new tab)

Related services: Corporate Tax

Last verified against official sources: 26 October 2026 · اقرأ بالعربية

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General information, not tax advice. Each record is checked against the official source; where they differ, the official Arabic text prevails.