Cabinet Decision Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2023 Cabinet

CD 74/2023 — Tax Procedures Executive Regulation

Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2023 on the Executive Regulation of Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures

In force — amended Issued 10 July 2023 In force from 1 August 2023

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

Official Arabic title
قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (74) لسنة 2023 — اللائحة التنفيذية للمرسوم بقانون اتحادي رقم (28) لسنة 2022 بشأن الإجراءات الضريبية
Document type
Cabinet Decision (Executive Regulation)
Number
74
Issued by
Cabinet
Administered by
Federal Tax Authority
Issued
10 July 2023
In force from
1 August 2023
Current position
In force with amendments. The FTA and MoF consolidated texts of April 2026 include Cabinet Decision No. 17 of 2026, in force from 1 April 2026.
Topics
Tax Procedures & the FTA · Record keeping · Voluntary disclosure · FTA audit
Official text
Official Arabic text · English translation (unofficial)

Factual summary

The Executive Regulation of the Tax Procedures Law. It sets record-keeping periods and methods, the language of documents, tax agent registration, voluntary disclosure thresholds and timelines, tax audit and seizure procedures, objections and reviews, credit balance refunds and confidentiality. It replaced Cabinet Decision No. 36 of 2017 from 1 August 2023 and was amended by Cabinet Decision No. 17 of 2026 from 1 April 2026.

What it means in practice Professional insight

Who: every taxpayer and registered tax agent. What to check: record retention (including the extra two years while a refund application is pending), the AED 10,000 voluntary-disclosure threshold and 20-Business-Day window, and the refund timelines in Article 26.

Key provisions

  • Art. 3 Record keeping: 5 years after the Tax Period (Taxable Persons), 5 years after the calendar year (others), 7 years for real estate records, plus additional periods in disputes, audits and — since 1 April 2026 — pending refund applications (Art. 3(2)(e)).
  • Art. 4 Records may be kept as photocopies or electronic copies; the FTA may set rules for keeping that information (see FTA Decision No. 4 of 2026).
  • Art. 10 Voluntary disclosure: above AED 10,000 within 20 Business Days of becoming aware of the error; AED 10,000 or less corrected in the next Tax Return where one is due (as amended by CD 17/2026).
  • Art. 26 Credit balance refunds: FTA decision within 20 Business Days of the application; repayment initiated within 5 Business Days of notifying approval (as amended by CD 17/2026).
  • Art. 30–31 Repeals Cabinet Decision No. 36 of 2017; effective 1 August 2023.

What changed

  1. 10 July 2023 Issued
  2. 1 August 2023 In force
  3. 1 August 2023 Replaces CD 36/2017 — Former Tax Procedures Executive Regulation (repealed): Repeals Cabinet Decision No. 36 of 2017 (Art. 30(1)) from 1 August 2023 (Art. 31(1)); FTA decisions and procedures made under it stay in force where consistent until replaced (Art. 30(3)).
  4. 23 March 2026 Amended by CD 17/2026 — Amendments to the Tax Procedures Executive Regulation — Arts. 3, 10, 18, 26, 28 (effective 1 April 2026): Adds a 2-year record-keeping extension while a refund application is pending; amends the voluntary disclosure and credit-balance refund articles; allows extension of seizures; amends disclosure to government entities.

Relationship chain

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

  1. 30 September 2022 Federal Decree-Law FDL 28/2022 — Tax Procedures Law In force — amended
    1. 11 June 2017 Federal Law FL 7/2017 — former Tax Procedures Law — Replaced by this law from 1 March 2023 Superseded
      1. 24 September 2017 Cabinet Decision CD 36/2017 — Former Tax Procedures Executive Regulation (repealed) — Executive Regulation of this law Repealed
      2. 1 May 2018 Cabinet Decision CD 23/2018 — Tax Disputes Resolution Committees — Made under it In force
      3. 28 December 2021 Cabinet Decision CD 105/2021 — Instalments, waiver and refund of administrative penalties — Made under it In force
      4. 2 September 2022 Cabinet Decision CD 85/2022 — Who is a UAE tax resident — Made under it In force (see Corporate Tax)
    2. 24 September 2017 Cabinet Decision CD 40/2017 — Administrative penalties: VAT, Excise Tax and Tax Procedures (schedule in force from 14 April 2026) — Made under it In force — amended
      1. 28 April 2021 Cabinet Decision CD 49/2021 — 2021 replacement of the tax penalty tables — Amends it In force
      2. 9 October 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 129/2025 — New tax penalty amounts from 14 April 2026 — Amends Art. 1 In force
    3. 10 July 2023 Cabinet Decision CD 74/2023 — Tax Procedures Executive Regulation — Executive Regulation of this law In force — amended
      1. 16 August 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 14/2023 — Extra conditions for a firm to register as a tax agent — Made under Art. 12(2)(d) In force
      2. 13 December 2023 FTA Decision FTA Decision 15/2023 — Annual CPD hours for individual tax agents — Made under it In force
      3. 15 January 2024 FTA Decision FTA Decision 1/2024 — Professional standards and black points for tax agents — Made under it In force
      4. 23 March 2026 Cabinet Decision CD 17/2026 — Amendments to the Tax Procedures Executive Regulation — Amends Arts. 3, 10, 18, 26, 28 In force
      5. 2 June 2026 FTA Decision FTA Decision 4/2026 — Keeping records as electronic copies or photocopies — Made under Art. 4(2) In force
    4. 19 July 2024 FTA Decision FTA Decision 5/2024 — When private clarification fees are refunded — Made under it In force
    5. 1 November 2024 FTA Decision FTA Decision 8/2024 — Correcting VAT return errors that do not change the tax due — Made under it In force (see VAT)
    6. 17 February 2025 FTA Decision FTA Decision 1/2025 — Extending deadlines for review and reconsideration requests — Made under it In force
    7. 13 March 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 64/2025 — Earlier e-invoicing service-provider accreditation (repealed) — Made under it Superseded (see E-Invoicing)
    8. 12 September 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 243/2025 — E-invoicing system — Made under e-invoicing provisions In force — amended (see E-Invoicing)
    9. 9 October 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 106/2025 — E-invoicing violations and penalties — Made under it In force (see E-Invoicing)
    10. 4 December 2025 FTA Decision FTA Decision 9/2025 — Declining refunds of residual amounts during a tax audit — Made under it In force
    11. 11 June 2026 FTA Decision FTA Decision 7/2026 — Disposal of seized and abandoned goods — Made under it In force

Official sources

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

Related services: VAT Health Check · 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.