FTA Decision FTA Decision No. 4 of 2026 Federal Tax Authority

FTA Decision 4/2026 — Keeping records as electronic copies or photocopies

Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 4 of 2026 on the Rules and Requirements for Maintaining the Information Contained in Accounting Records and Commercial Books

In force Issued 2 June 2026 In force from 30 July 2026

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

Official Arabic title
قرار الهيئة الاتحادية للضرائب رقم (4) لسنة 2026 — قواعد ومتطلبات الاحتفاظ بالمعلومات الواردة في السجلات المحاسبية والدفاتر التجارية
Document type
FTA Decision
Number
4
Issued by
Federal Tax Authority
Issued
2 June 2026
In force from
30 July 2026
Applies to
Every Person required to keep accounting records and commercial books for tax purposes.
Current position
In force from 30 July 2026. Made under Article 4(2) of the Tax Procedures Executive Regulation (Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2023).
Topics
Tax Procedures & the FTA · Record keeping
Official text
Official Arabic text · English translation (unofficial)

Factual summary

Sets the rules for keeping the information in accounting records and commercial books instead of the originals. Copies must be complete, identical to the original and in the same page order, legible for the whole retention period, and accessible to the FTA on request, including any passwords or encryption keys. A Person may use a third party to keep its records but stays legally responsible for them.

What it means in practice Professional insight

Who: every taxpayer that scans or stores records electronically. What to check: full-page, in-order scans, durable legibility, and a way to give the FTA access to the storage system on request.

Key provisions

  • Art. 2 Records and commercial books must be complete and identical to the originals, clear and legible, and accessible to the FTA on request, including the system that holds them.
  • Art. 3 Electronic copies and photocopies must reproduce every page in order (no partial scanning), stay legible for the retention period, and passwords or encryption keys must be provided to the FTA.
  • Art. 4 A third party may keep the records; the Person remains legally responsible.
  • Art. 5 Effective from its date of publication (30 July 2026 on the FTA cover).

What changed

  1. 2 June 2026 Issued
  2. 30 July 2026 In force

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

Book a consultation

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