Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022 on Tax Procedures
Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022
Sets the general procedural framework for UAE federal taxes, including registration, tax returns, records, assessments, audits, refunds, voluntary disclosure, administrative penalties, objections, disputes, collection and limitation periods.
Overview
What this legislation covers
Sets the general procedural framework for UAE federal taxes, including registration, tax returns, records, assessments, audits, refunds, voluntary disclosure, administrative penalties, objections, disputes, collection and limitation periods.
Who or what it applies to
- Taxable persons and registrants under UAE federal tax laws.
- Tax agents and legal representatives.
- Businesses maintaining records and filing tax returns.
- Persons requesting tax refunds or holding credit balances.
- Persons subject to FTA audit, assessment, penalty or collection action.
- Federal Tax Authority and Tax Disputes Resolution Committees.
Key points
Important points at a glance
Applies procedural rules across federal taxes administered by the Federal Tax Authority, subject to each tax law.
Defines taxable persons, tax registration, tax agents, legal representatives and Authority powers.
Requires maintenance and submission of tax records, returns and supporting information.
Authorises tax audits, information requests and tax assessments.
Regulates voluntary disclosures and correction of tax errors.
Provides administrative-penalty procedures and tax-evasion/offence provisions where applicable.
Creates objection and reconsideration pathways and Tax Disputes Resolution Committee procedures.
Regulates tax refunds, credit balances and use of credits against liabilities.
Federal Decree-Law No. (17) of 2025 amended the law with effect from 1 January 2026.
The 2025 amendment introduced a clearer five-year framework for requesting refunds of credit balances or using them to settle tax liabilities, subject to specified exceptions.
The amendment also expanded rules governing limitation periods in certain refund/audit situations.
The amendment empowers the Authority to issue official and binding directions on application of tax legislation within the statutory framework.
Cabinet Resolution No. (74) of 2023 is the active Executive Regulation.
The Executive Regulation was amended in 2026, with the updated executive provisions taking effect from 1 April 2026.
Taxpayers must also read the relevant VAT, Excise or Corporate Tax legislation for tax-specific duties.
Practical explanation
Understanding the law
Purpose and practical effect
Sets the general procedural framework for UAE federal taxes, including registration, tax returns, records, assessments, audits, refunds, voluntary disclosure, administrative penalties, objections, disputes, collection and limitation periods.
Who and what the law applies to
- Taxable persons and registrants under UAE federal tax laws.
- Tax agents and legal representatives.
- Businesses maintaining records and filing tax returns.
- Persons requesting tax refunds or holding credit balances.
- Persons subject to FTA audit, assessment, penalty or collection action.
- Federal Tax Authority and Tax Disputes Resolution Committees.
Important definitions
- Authority: the UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA).
- Taxable Person: a person subject to tax obligations under the relevant federal tax law.
- Tax Return: the information and tax calculation filed for a tax period as required.
- Tax Audit: an Authority procedure to verify compliance and tax liability.
- Tax Assessment: an Authority determination of tax/penalty liability in circumstances specified by law.
- Voluntary Disclosure: a formal correction of tax information under the statutory procedure.
- Tax Credit Balance: an amount standing to a person's credit with the FTA under the tax legislation.
Main rights, duties and legal consequences
- Taxpayers may use the statutory reconsideration, objection and appeal mechanisms subject to deadlines and admissibility rules.
- Eligible persons may request refunds or use credit balances within the current limitation framework.
- The FTA may audit and assess within statutory powers and limitation periods.
- Taxpayers must cooperate with lawful information/document requests while retaining procedural challenge rights.
Practical compliance / procedure checklist
- Register/deregister for each relevant tax when statutory conditions are met.
- Maintain records and file returns using the FTA's prescribed systems and deadlines.
- Correct errors through voluntary disclosure where required.
- Respond to audit notices and information requests with complete supporting evidence.
- Review assessments/penalties immediately because challenge deadlines are strict.
- Use the reconsideration and Tax Disputes Resolution Committee process in the correct order.
- For refunds/credit balances, apply the amended five-year rules effective 1 January 2026.
- Use the current amended Cabinet Resolution No. (74) of 2023 for operational procedures.
Important dates and deadlines
- Issued: 30 September 2022.
- Effective: 1 March 2023.
- Federal Decree-Law No. (17) of 2025 amendments: effective 1 January 2026.
- Amended Executive Regulation provisions: effective 1 April 2026.
- Refund/credit-balance limitation: generally not more than five years from the end of the relevant tax period, subject to statutory exceptions.
- Reconsideration, objection, appeal, disclosure and payment deadlines are transaction-specific and must be checked directly.
Enforcement and legal exposure
The FTA may audit, assess, impose administrative penalties and collect tax debts under the law. Serious evasion or fraudulent conduct can trigger criminal liability. Because deadlines can determine appeal rights, live disputes require article-level verification.
Practical scenarios
- A taxpayer finding an incorrect return should determine whether voluntary disclosure is required rather than silently adjusting a later return.
- A credit balance should be reviewed against the five-year refund/use limitation introduced by the 2025 amendment.
- An FTA assessment should be diarised immediately because reconsideration and dispute deadlines are strict.
- A business cannot rely on the Tax Procedures Law alone to calculate VAT/Excise/Corporate Tax; the substantive tax law also applies.
Current-law interaction
Federal Decree-Law No. (17) of 2025 amended Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022 with effect from 1 January 2026. Cabinet Resolution No. (74) of 2023, the Executive Regulation, has also been amended, with updated executive provisions effective from 1 April 2026.
Research status and caution
Legal-status and source verification for this package was carried out on 2026-09-08. UAE federal legislation frequently operates together with Executive Regulations, Cabinet resolutions, ministerial decisions, regulator guidance and Emirate-level rules. The current official source should be rechecked before a live filing, licence application, tax position, clinical/veterinary decision, enforcement step or court submission.
The cover is an editorial design supplied by the user. Its visual wording is not used as the sole basis for legal status. Where the cover and current official materials differ, the manifest and legal files record the verified/current framework used for this package.
Practical notes
- Use the current official Arabic text for interpretation and application; the English material in this package is a structured legal-information rendering.
- Verify the latest consolidated law, Executive Regulation, Cabinet/ministerial decisions and relevant Emirate-level rules immediately before case-specific reliance.
- Exact penalties, thresholds, exceptions, licence conditions, medical/technical criteria and procedural deadlines must be checked against the current article and implementing instrument.
- The supplied cover artwork is editorial artwork and does not constitute an official UAE Government publication or legal-status certificate.
Legislation text
Text and provisions
Official-text notice. This file is a comprehensive structured English legal-information rendering based on the official/current sources listed in this package. It is not represented as the controlling verbatim English text. For interpretation and application, the official Arabic text prevails. Exact offence elements, penalties, thresholds, exceptions, licence conditions, technical or medical criteria and deadlines must be checked against the current article and implementing instrument.
Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022 on Tax Procedures
Verified legislative metadata
| Instrument | Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022 |
|---|---|
| Issued | 2022-09-30 |
| Effective | 2023-03-01 |
| Status | Active / in force, as amended through Federal Decree-Law No. (17) of 2025 |
| Official Gazette | Not entered |
| Official source | UAE legislation source |
Purpose and scope
Sets the general procedural framework for UAE federal taxes, including registration, tax returns, records, assessments, audits, refunds, voluntary disclosure, administrative penalties, objections, disputes, collection and limitation periods.
Structured legislative map
Definitions and general rules
Establishes common procedural terminology and tax-administration principles.
Tax registration and deregistration
Provides general procedural rules, supplemented by each tax law.
Records and tax returns
Requires records, tax returns and supporting documentation.
Tax agents and representatives
Regulates appointment, registration and responsibilities of tax agents/legal representatives.
Tax audits
Authorises the FTA to inspect records, premises and transactions within statutory safeguards.
Tax assessments
Provides assessment and notification mechanisms where tax is unpaid/incorrect.
Voluntary disclosure
Allows/obliges correction of errors through the statutory disclosure process.
Administrative penalties
Provides procedures for imposing and challenging administrative tax penalties.
Tax refund and credits
Regulates refund applications and use of credit balances, including the 2025 five-year framework.
Limitation periods
Defines time limits for audits/assessments and exceptions, as amended in 2025.
Reconsideration and disputes
Provides FTA reconsideration and Tax Disputes Resolution Committee pathways.
Court appeals
Allows judicial challenge subject to statutory admissibility and payment/security requirements.
Tax collection
Provides mechanisms for collection and enforcement of tax debts.
Tax offences/evasion
Defines serious unlawful conduct and related consequences.
Executive Regulation
Cabinet Resolution No. (74) of 2023, as amended, contains detailed procedures.
2025/2026 updates
Major procedural amendments took effect on 1 January 2026 and Executive Regulation updates on 1 April 2026.
Key statutory points
- Applies procedural rules across federal taxes administered by the Federal Tax Authority, subject to each tax law.
- Defines taxable persons, tax registration, tax agents, legal representatives and Authority powers.
- Requires maintenance and submission of tax records, returns and supporting information.
- Authorises tax audits, information requests and tax assessments.
- Regulates voluntary disclosures and correction of tax errors.
- Provides administrative-penalty procedures and tax-evasion/offence provisions where applicable.
- Creates objection and reconsideration pathways and Tax Disputes Resolution Committee procedures.
- Regulates tax refunds, credit balances and use of credits against liabilities.
- Federal Decree-Law No. (17) of 2025 amended the law with effect from 1 January 2026.
- The 2025 amendment introduced a clearer five-year framework for requesting refunds of credit balances or using them to settle tax liabilities, subject to specified exceptions.
- The amendment also expanded rules governing limitation periods in certain refund/audit situations.
- The amendment empowers the Authority to issue official and binding directions on application of tax legislation within the statutory framework.
- Cabinet Resolution No. (74) of 2023 is the active Executive Regulation.
- The Executive Regulation was amended in 2026, with the updated executive provisions taking effect from 1 April 2026.
- Taxpayers must also read the relevant VAT, Excise or Corporate Tax legislation for tax-specific duties.
Amendments, regulations and interaction with other legislation
Federal Decree-Law No. (17) of 2025 amended Federal Decree-Law No. (28) of 2022 with effect from 1 January 2026. Cabinet Resolution No. (74) of 2023, the Executive Regulation, has also been amended, with updated executive provisions effective from 1 April 2026.
How this text should be used
This package is designed for website publication, internal research and client-facing orientation. It maps the instrument's operative subject matter and the current regulatory context verified for this batch. It does not replace article-level reading. Where the answer depends on a defined term, scheduled disease or product, professional qualification, technical standard, licence category, tax period, limitation period, consent requirement, offence, penalty, exemption, transition rule or deadline, open the current official legislation and the relevant Executive Regulation or competent-authority decision before relying on the conclusion.
Source priority
For legal interpretation, the official Arabic legislation is controlling. The official English portal is useful for research but itself states that the Arabic text prevails in case of conflict. Local Emirate rules, regulator circulars and technical decisions may add operational requirements without replacing the federal framework.
Verification
Official source & references
Official legislation sourcehttps://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1625Open ↗This page is a research and educational resource. Legislation can be amended, repealed, supplemented by regulations or interpreted by courts and authorities. Obtain advice before relying on it for a live matter.