Choose a free zone if you will mostly serve clients outside the UAE, and a mainland licence if you will sell inside it; since early 2021 a foreigner can own 100 per cent of most mainland companies, so an Indian founder no longer needs an Emirati partner. The steps are the same either way: pick the business activity, the legal form and a trade name, get initial approval, sign the memorandum, take a location (a lease or a free zone desk) and collect the licence; DMCC and other zones let you do it online. Corporate tax is 0 per cent up to AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9 per cent above. From India, the money you send to set it up is overseas direct investment under the 2022 Overseas Investment Rules, routed through your bank and counted against your USD 250,000 a year Liberalised Remittance Scheme limit so talk to your bank first. What sinks most is paying for a licence, desk and visa before there is one UAE customer.
The UAE government's own page on setting up in a free zone: choosing the legal entity, the trade name, and links to each free zone authority, including DMCC's online setup and Dubai's free zones comparison.
The official sequence for a mainland (onshore) company: business activity, legal form, trade licence and trade name, initial approval, memorandum of association, location, other approvals, then the licence. It also points to the Basher platform for setting up online.
Explains Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2020, in force from early 2021, which lets a foreign investor own 100 per cent of most mainland companies and removed the old requirement for an Emirati majority partner or local agent. Strategic sectors still need approvals.
The UAE government's summary of corporate tax: 0 per cent on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9 per cent above it, administered by the Federal Tax Authority, with the exemptions listed.
The RBI's rules on how much a resident individual can send abroad: up to USD 250,000 a financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, with overseas direct investment governed by the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, Regulations and Directions, 2022.
Dubai Multi Commodities Centre's own online setup, which the UAE portal points to: answer what you will do and it builds a licence and office package you can apply, pay and sign for online.
