The UAE Federal Tax Authority has issued FTA Decision No. 6 of 2026, introducing additional compliance procedures for Qualifying Free Zone Persons (QFZPs) engaged in the distribution of goods or materials in or from a Designated Zone under the UAE Corporate Tax regime. Effective for Tax Periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026, the Decision requires QFZPs performing distribution activities to obtain an agreed‑upon procedures (AUP) report prepared in accordance with ISRS 4400 by an independent external auditor.
The AUP report must confirm two key conditions:
(1) The QFZP supplies goods or materials to customers who resell, process, or alter them for onward sale; and
(2) Any goods or materials imported into the UAE by the QFZP enter through a Designated Zone.
To support the auditor’s procedures, QFZPs must collect and retain documentation such as customer trade licences, reseller declarations, sales agreements, import declarations, shipping documents, and internal inventory or logistics records. The Decision also sets out sampling rules for selecting customer and import documentation, requiring samples to be based on the highest‑value transactions.
The AUP report must be submitted to the FTA within 30 days after the Corporate Tax return filing deadline. Failure to submit the report will result in the QFZP being treated as non‑compliant with the conditions for qualifying distribution activities under Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 and Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025.
FTA Decision No. 6 of 2026 was issued on 2 June 2026 and takes effect from the date of issuance.