The Department of Economic Development Abu Dhabi issued a decision regarding the regulation regulating the practice of economic activities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, commercial, industrial, craftsmanship, professional, agricultural and service or any activity in any other economic sector that may be practiced in accordance with the legislation in force.
Rashid Abdul Karim Al Balushi, Undersecretary of the Department, affirmed that the decision comes in the framework of the department’s tasks in regulating the economic sector in all aspects through setting policies, standards, regulations, decisions and operational and operational circulars regulating the sector in accordance with the relevant legislation, agreements and treaties in force locally and internationally.
He added that this decision also comes within the framework of the department’s role in licensing the entities, companies and people working in the economic sector and monitoring the extent of its commitment to provide the optimum level in the quality of services it provides in accordance with the legislation in force and in coordination with the relevant authorities.
Al-Balooshi said that the decision aims to regulate the business sector at the level of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in a manner that enhances the competitiveness of doing business activities regionally and internationally within the reports of international competitiveness, which requires clarity and ease of procedures and regulations regulating the issuance and practice of economic activities.
He said that the decision clearly defines all procedures, regulations and requirements for all cases related to economic licensing, including licensing, renewal and cancellation transactions for institutions, companies, branches of companies and all legal forms of economic licenses.
He stated that the total number of economic licenses registered in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi amounted to the end of June of this year, 179048 licenses distributed to 147580 commercial licenses, 1918 industrial licenses, 2237 tourist and 3609 professional licenses 23461 craft licenses and 243 agricultural licenses and fish wealth.
In its decision, the department specified classifying licenses and activities, controls and conditions for the establishment's registration in the commercial register and electronic procedures in accordance with the means and regulations, including submitting and registering applications, registering licenses, trade names and related data and storing them.
She emphasized the importance of the licensed establishments preparing their financial statements and making them available for review by the department or the competent supervisory authorities and documenting the partnership contracts or a service agent and other contracts with an electronic signature between the contractors through the authority of the department in approving this mechanism without prejudice to the relevant legislation.
In its decision, the department clarified the procedures for licensing the establishment, the location of practicing economic activity, how to reserve a commercial name, the duration of the license, and licensing of institutions for citizens of the UAE and non-citizens in addition to the correct procedures followed to cancel the institution, how to license companies and practice branches of the facility for activities not mentioned in the main license.
It also clarified how to cancel a branch of a local facility, a mechanism for converting and selling branches of local enterprises, licensing branches of foreign enterprises and a mechanism for transferring the record of a foreign company, canceling, selling, and converting a branch of a foreign company, licensing branches of a licensed facility in free zones, and how to issue electronic commercial licenses for individuals and electronic commercial licenses for enterprises.
In its decisions, the department specified the procedures for industrial licensing and classify it according to the categories of industry pioneers and under construction and production, with the determination of the obligations and controls of the licensed industrial establishment and the practice of the industrial establishment for commercial activity and licensing of the business company for professionals from citizens of the UAE and non-citizens in addition to procedures for renewing the license and modifying the facility data with clarification of cases that are necessary It includes advertisement in newspapers.
In its decision, the department clarified the obligations and responsibilities of the services agent, the inheritance transfer mechanism, the cases of stopping the denial of licensing, the imposition of restrictions, the procedures for conditions of pledging of shares and assets, the suspension and freezing of the license, the clarification of the commercial franchise, business incubators and accelerators, cases of cancellation or failure to grant the license and warehouse permit procedures.