Telephone Numbers
Telephone Numbers
For detailed information +90 542 381 3868'Call.
Manufacturing in Dubai runs on a different rulebook from trading. An industrial activity needs a physical plant, a power allocation, fire and environmental approvals, and a federal industrial registration on top of the emirate-level license. What follows covers the scope of the license, which zone suits which type of producer, the real cost structure and the details that shorten the timeline.
An industrial license covers the processing of raw materials, the manufacture of finished goods, assembly, packaging, segregation and collection. The Dubai government defines it as covering all kinds of manufacturing and production, including food, textiles, paper, petroleum products, equipment and appliances. A trade license lets you buy and sell goods; it does not let you produce them on your own premises, or even repackage them.
The requirement is federal as well as local. Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2022 on the Regulation and Development of Industry took effect on 2 January 2023 and made the industrial license a statutory obligation. Article 10 provides for imprisonment and a fine of up to AED 1,000,000 for the owner of an industrial establishment operating without one. The same law establishes an Industrial Registry at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), and licensed establishments must update their registry information every year.
In practice two layers run in parallel: the industrial license issued by the emirate's licensing authority (the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai) and MoIAT industrial production licensing plus registry entry. That second layer, which most guides skip, becomes decisive for export documentation, customs duty exemption and public tenders.
The class your plant falls into drives the approvals you need, your fire-load category and the minimum plot size. Classification follows installed power, the hazard class of the raw materials and production volume.
| Class | Typical Activity | Key Approval Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Assembly, packaging, garment manufacturing, furniture, light food processing | Environmental Clearance Category C, standard Civil Defence approval |
| Medium | Plastic injection, metal fabrication, cosmetics, packaging production | Environmental Clearance Category B, waste management plan, higher fire load |
| Heavy | Chemicals, steel, cement, petrochemicals, large-scale food plants | Environmental Clearance Category A with a full EIA report, high-capacity power allocation |
Handled in the right order the process is predictable. Most steps depend on the one before; a Civil Defence file cannot be opened, for instance, until the premises are fixed.
The map below reflects a light-industrial investor leasing a ready-built warehouse. On heavy-industrial and land-lease projects, environmental approval alone can take several months.
Producers make this choice on different logic from traders. The deciding question is not office cost but who buys the product. Selling directly into the UAE domestic market points to mainland; export and re-export led operations point to a free zone.
| Criterion | Mainland (DET) | Free Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic market sales | Direct and unrestricted | Through a mainland distributor; 5% duty on entry |
| Foreign ownership | 100% available for industrial activities | 100% |
| Corporate tax | 9% on profit above AED 375,000 | 0% on Qualifying Income where QFZP conditions are met |
| Raw material imports | 5% duty on CIF value; industrial input exemption can be applied for | No duty on entry into the zone |
| Public tenders | Strong position through ICV score | Possible, but needs structuring |
| Emiratisation quota | Applies to MoHRE-registered employers | Governed by the zone authority regime |
For a fuller side-by-side, see our mainland versus free zone comparison.
Zone choice comes down to power allocation, clear height, distance to port and labour accommodation. Office-oriented free zones are not suitable for production.
| Zone | Strength | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai Industrial City | Up to 4 MW power per plot, 5,000–11,000 sq ft ready warehouses, labour accommodation, open yards | Genuine manufacturers taking a long-term land lease |
| JAFZA | Adjacent to Jebel Ali Port, published license tariff, HSE audit regime | Export and re-export led production |
| Dubai South | Proximity to Al Maktoum International, build-to-suit facilities | Air-freight linked, logistics-integrated production |
| Dubai Investments Park | Mixed industrial and logistics fabric, inner-city access | Mid-sized production serving the domestic market |
| KEZAD (Abu Dhabi) | The UAE's largest industrial land bank, sector clusters, both free zone and domestic zone options | Heavy industry needing large plots and port connectivity |
| RAKEZ and SAIF Zone | Comparatively low operating cost | Cost-sensitive SME manufacturing |
Our Dubai free zones guide covers how the zones are structured in general.
Dubai publishes no single consolidated tariff for industrial licensing; fees are quoted at application based on activity code, legal form and premises. The table separates figures with an official published source from items that sit at market level.
| Item | Amount | Source Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Ejari tenancy registration | AED 177.75 (Dubai REST) / AED 220 (trustee centre) | Official tariff |
| JAFZA industrial license (one activity group, up to 7 activities) | AED 5,000 per year, +AED 500 per additional activity | Official tariff |
| JAFZA two activity groups | AED 8,500 per year | Official tariff |
| Mainland industrial license and government fees | Varies by activity and facility, quoted at application | No published tariff |
| Facility layout and engineering drawings | Scales with project size | Market item |
| Civil Defence drawing approval and inspection | Depends on system scope | Market item |
| Environmental Clearance file and EIA | Largest single item on Category A projects | Market item |
| Warehouse or production space rent | AED 30–100 per sq ft per year depending on submarket | Market data (Knight Frank) |
The item most often left out of a budget is machinery. Licensing and approval costs are a small share of total investment; the weight sits in equipment, electrical infrastructure and working capital.
Supply in Dubai industrial real estate is tight and rents have been climbing for several years. Knight Frank's Q4 2025 data shows a threefold spread between submarkets.
| Submarket | Rent (AED / sq ft / year) | Year-on-year |
|---|---|---|
| Al Quoz (Grade A) | 100 | +39% |
| Dubai Investments Park (Grade A) | 60–65 | +10% |
| Dubai Industrial City | 58 | +32% |
| Jebel Ali (Grade B) | 50 | +19% |
| Dubai South | 45–55 | +25% |
| JAFZA North and South (Grade A) | 40–45 | +22% |
| JAFZA (Grade B) | 30–38 | — |
The same report expects roughly 6.6 million sq ft of new supply to enter Dubai during 2026. It is worth weighing the effect of that supply wave before signing a long lease.
Food packaging must carry the ingredient list, producer name, expiry date, barcode, storage and handling instructions and net weight. Inspectors separately check that ceilings, floors and walls are built from materials meeting the relevant hygiene standard, that lighting and ventilation are adequate, that plumbing and waste lines are in working order and that equipment is cleaned on schedule.
UAE corporate tax was introduced by Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 June 2023. Taxable income up to AED 375,000 is taxed at 0% and the excess at 9%.
Companies with annual revenue not exceeding AED 3,000,000 can elect Small Business Relief. On 7 August 2026 the Ministry of Finance announced that the relief has been extended to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. Details are in our Small Business Relief article.
Qualifying Free Zone Person status delivers 0% corporate tax on Qualifying Income. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 lists manufacturing of goods or materials and processing of goods or materials as Qualifying Activities, with manufacturing defined to include the production, improvement or assembly of products from raw materials or components. Keeping the status requires adequate substance in the zone and complete transfer pricing documentation.
The critical point: sales to mainland customers are generally not Qualifying Income. If non-qualifying revenue exceeds 5% of total revenue or AED 5,000,000, whichever is lower, QFZP status is lost and all profit becomes taxable at 9%. “Free zone means zero tax” is therefore misleading. Our QFZP article sets out every condition.
UAE VAT is 5%. Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 and voluntary above AED 187,500. Exports of goods outside the GCC are zero-rated, which means an export-led producer can recover input VAT.
Standard import duty is 5% of the CIF value. Free zone licensees may bring goods and equipment into the zone without paying duty; the charge arises only when goods enter the UAE mainland. For mainland producers, MoIAT operates a separate service for registering industrial inputs for customs duty exemption. Our articles on importing into the UAE and customs clearance walk through the mechanics.
The most overlooked opportunity on the production side is the National In-Country Value (ICV) Programme. Run by MoIAT, it scores a supplier's contribution to the local economy, and certified suppliers gain an advantage in tender and contract awards based on their ICV score. For many manufacturers the reason to build in the UAE is not tax at all – it is the public and semi-public procurement door that this score opens.
The policy backdrop is substantial. Operation 300bn, launched in May 2021, aims to raise the industrial sector's GDP contribution from AED 133 billion to AED 300 billion by 2031, with Emirates Development Bank allocating AED 30 billion of financing over five years. At the “Make it in the Emirates” edition that closed on 8 May 2026, MoIAT reported 1,245 exhibitors, more than 146,000 visitors and over 200 agreements signed, alongside AED 180 billion of offtake commitments spread over the coming decade and a AED 1 billion National Industrial Resilience Fund.
Unlike office companies, a factory's visa quota is calculated from facility area and activity type. On the mainland the quota is opened through MoHRE; in a free zone it follows the zone authority's allocation rules. If you employ blue-collar staff, labour accommodation and transport form part of the file. Our Dubai work and residence visa page explains how the process runs.
Emiratisation obligations apply to MoHRE-registered employers. Companies with 50 or more employees must raise Emirati employment in skilled roles by 2% a year, applied as 1% every six months with 30 June and 31 December checkpoints. In designated sectors, companies with 20–49 employees had to hire one UAE national by the end of 2024 and a second by the end of 2025; missing the target triggers an annual contribution of AED 108,000 from 2026. Our Emiratisation article covers the full framework.
Figures and legislative references were compiled from official sources as at the publication date. Fees, rent levels and tax treatment can change, so current conditions should be confirmed before an investment decision.
The most common mistake we see in Dubai manufacturing projects is a decision driven by tax. For a producer, three things actually decide the outcome: who buys the product, whether the facility meets the technical specification, and whether the MoIAT registry entry is opened on time. A manufacturer selling into the domestic market who sets up in a free zone pays 5% at customs and pushes against the non-qualifying revenue threshold, putting QFZP status at risk. For an export-led plant, by contrast, the duty saving on raw material entry alone makes the free zone materially cheaper. Not signing the warehouse lease before the approvals, and settling the environmental clearance category in the first week, typically cuts a month off the schedule.
Industrial licensing is a chain of interdependent approvals, and taking a link out of order gets expensive. When the scope of the activity code, the technical suitability of the premises, the environmental clearance category and the tax structure are assessed together before incorporation, both the timeline and the budget become predictable. The World Company Setup team handles the process end to end – from zone selection and the license file to Civil Defence and environmental approvals, MoIAT registry entry and corporate tax registration.
For light-industrial projects using a ready-built warehouse the typical timeline is 8 to 12 weeks. Trade name reservation and initial approval take the first two weeks, the premises contract and Ejari registration the second month, and Civil Defence plus municipality planning approvals the third. Heavy-industrial projects falling into Environmental Clearance Category A need a full EIA report, which can add several months.
There is no single published minimum capital tariff for a Dubai mainland industrial license. Capital is assessed at application against the activity code, legal form, facility size and machinery investment. In the free zones the requirement follows the zone authority's package rules. Budgeting is therefore more realistic when built around facility rent and equipment investment rather than the license fee.
Yes. Full foreign ownership of mainland companies was introduced by Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020 and consolidated in Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies. Dubai lists more than a thousand commercial and industrial activities as eligible. The restriction applies only to the seven activities of strategic impact under Cabinet Resolution No. 55 of 2021, and manufacturing is not among them. In free zones ownership is 100% by default.
Taxable income up to AED 375,000 is taxed at 0% and the excess at 9%. Companies with revenue not exceeding AED 3,000,000 can elect Small Business Relief, which the Ministry of Finance has extended to tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. A production facility in a free zone can be taxed at 0% on Qualifying Income where it satisfies the QFZP conditions.
You can, with two consequences. First, 5% customs duty on the CIF value arises when goods move from the free zone into the UAE mainland. Second, sales to mainland customers are generally not Qualifying Income; if non-qualifying revenue exceeds 5% of total revenue or AED 5,000,000, whichever is lower, QFZP status is lost and all profit is taxed at 9%. For a domestic-market production plan a mainland structure is usually the better fit.
On Knight Frank's Q4 2025 data, annual rents per sq ft stand at AED 100 in Grade A Al Quoz, AED 60-65 in Grade A Dubai Investments Park, AED 58 in Dubai Industrial City, AED 50 in Grade B Jebel Ali, AED 45-55 in Dubai South and AED 40-45 in Grade A JAFZA. The same report expects around 6.6 million sq ft of new supply in Dubai during 2026.
In production facilities the visa quota is calculated from facility area and activity type rather than office space. On the mainland the quota is opened through MoHRE; in free zones the zone authority's allocation rules apply. Where blue-collar staff are employed, labour accommodation and transport form part of the file. The quota can be increased through a further application as the facility grows.
A trade license permits the buying and selling of goods; it does not authorise production, assembly or repackaging. An industrial license covers the processing of raw materials, manufacture of finished goods, assembly and packaging, and requires a physical production facility, Civil Defence approval and environmental clearance. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2022 the activity must also be entered in the MoIAT industrial registry; operating without a license carries imprisonment and a fine of up to AED 1,000,000.
+90 542 381 3868
+971 58 5204103