UAE’s Ministry of Economy reduces fees for 94 services

The Ministry of Economy in the UAE has announced a revised list of service fees, reflecting a reduction across 94 of its services, particularly those offered to the public covering individuals, companies and the business sector, it announced on April 12.

The move is being made in accordance with the UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 20 of 2020 regarding services fees provided by the ministry.

The reduction covers a range of services, particularly those related to innovation, business activities, investment, production, trade, import and export activities.

Prominent among these are commercial registration services, commercial agencies, trademarks, origin, auditors and intellectual properties. The reduction rates applied to these services reach up to 98 per cent.

The financial impact on the business sector as a result of this reduction is estimated to be valued at Dhs113m in 2020.

“Reducing fees for services provided by the Ministry of Economy to individuals and companies will reduce the cost of establishing and conducting business in the country and will reduce the burden on commercial and investment institutions, which is to support the main and affected sectors stimulating the economic environment and ensuring the sustainability of the pioneering structure of the national economy and business continuity,” said Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy.

The minister added that the reduction in fees for these select services, with up to 98 per cent discount in some services, represents an addition to the measures taken by the UAE and local governments to stem the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On March 15, the UAE Central Bank announced a Dhs100bn stimulus package called the Targeted Economic Support Scheme (TESS) which included Dhs50bn of zero-interest, collateralised loans for UAE-based banks and also Dhs50bn funds freed up from banks’ capital buffers.

Read: UAE Central Bank announces Dhs100bn package to counter Covid-19

On March 22, the United Arab Emirates boosted the size of its stimulus package to Dhs126bn as the second-biggest Arab economy sought to fend off the impact of the coronavirus.

Read: UAE boosts stimulus to $34bn to fend off virus impact

On April 11, the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced 376 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of cases in the country to 3,736.