Use this service to amend your Designated Zone registration details, including updating the categories of excise goods stored in your Designated Zone. Use this service to also renew your Designated Zone registration or reactivate your Designated Zone registration after its suspension.

•EmaraTax platform:
24 hours a day, 7 days a week

For registration amendments - Free of charge For registration renewal - AED2,000 / designated zone

45 Minutes.

Generally, estimated time to complete the application by the FTA is 20 business days from the date the completed application was received. However, in case where any additional information is needed FTA may take additional time to process the application. The applicant needs to provide the additional information and re-submit the application. It may take the FTA a further 20 business days to respond to the updated application. If the application is not resubmitted within 60 calendar days from the date you received the notification from FTA, the application will be auto rejected

Required documents: 
Where you are applying to amend / renew / reactivate your Designated Zone registration, it may be necessary for you to prepare the following information in an appropriate format and include it in your online application. Note that not all the below documents may be needed for your application. Only those documents relevant for the amendment you made or relevant for the renewal / reactivation of your Designated Zone registration will be required to be submitted as part of your application: 
• Documents demonstrating the capabilities of your stock and record management system(s).
• Documents explaining the process which will be adopted with respect to the entry and removal of Excise Goods to/from your Designated Zone.
• Documents demonstrating the measures which are put in place to control the access of personnel to your Designated Zone and the excise goods within it. 
• Documents demonstrating how you will identify and monitor the entry into your Designated Zone of excise goods on which no Excise Tax has been paid.
• Documents demonstrating how you will identify and monitor the arrival from or transfer to another Designated Zone of excise goods on which no Excise Tax has been paid. 
• Documents demonstrating information required for calculating the financial guarantee for your Designated Zone. 

Examples of the above-mentioned documents are as follows: 
• Official Site Plan of your warehouse (including the plot number), issued, stamped, and signed by the Free Zone Authority. 
• Detailed warehouse plan, signed and stamped by the engineering consultant and the authorised signatory, showing the areas where the goods are stored, and the types of goods stored (both excise goods and non-excise goods).
• Excise goods flow and movement plan. This refers to the step-by-step movement of the excise goods into and from your Designated Zone. For example, excise goods enter from Gate 1, are inspected by security, enter into Designated Zone, documentation is processed in case of production within Designated Zone, excise goods exit from Gate 2, and documentation is processed for the exit.
• Letter on your Warehouse Keeper letterhead with detailed description of the inventory system used in your Designated Zone, along with screenshots of the system (signed and stamped by the authorised signatory).
• Declaration clarifying the details of procedures followed when moving/shifting excise goods, including the entry/exit of excise goods into/from your Designated Zone.
• Images proving that CCTV cameras are installed and working properly in the Designated Zone.
• Letter clarifying procedures and measures adopted in the warehouse to allow the entry of authorised employees/visitors to the Designated Zone and confirming that a governed mechanism is set in place to achieve that, in addition to images showing the tools used for this purpose.
• Images of the goods and how they are distinguished in the Designated Zone/warehouse.
• Evidence that the transactions relating to the stock are being logged in the system regularly and that stock reports are issued and approved by the Warehouse Keeper.
• Monthly financial reports for 12 months on the value of excise goods in the Designated Zone and the Excise Tax amount as per the advertised price.
• Monthly average of the price of the excise goods held at the end of each month in the Designated Zone and the Excise Tax amount on the advertised price.
• Estimate of the amount of Excise Tax which will be suspended in relation to the excise goods entered your Designated Zone.
• Financial guarantee and official letter of undertaking specifying the person who will deliver the financial guarantee to the FTA (only to be submitted once the FTA notifies the Warehouse Keeper of the required financial guarantee amount).
• Passport/Emirates ID of the authorised signatory.
• Proof of authorisation for the authorised signatory.
Accepted file types are Excel, PDF, JPG, PNG and JPEG. The individual file size limit is 5MB.

Required Forms:
• Below are the templates that should be used for capturing stock levels required for the Designated Zone Financial Guarantee calculation. 
- Stock of Cigarettes Produced
- Stock of Tobacco Products other than Cigarettes 
- Stock of All other Excise Finished Goods

Step 1 – Please check the eligibility criteria, required documents and Frequently Asked Questions.
Step 2 – Complete and submit the online application form.
Step 3 – Provide the financial guarantee required to the FTA upon request.
Step 4 – Pay the Designated Zone registration fees upon request. (Only required in case of Designated Zone registration renewal)

1. Can I save the application as a draft to be updated later? If yes, for how long?
Yes, you can save your in-progress application (as a draft) and complete it at a later point in time. However, if you do not submit your application within 60 calendar days of initiation, it will be cancelled automatically. You will receive email and SMS reminders as well.

2. Who can submit the application to FTA?
The application can be submitted to FTA by you (the Warehouse Keeper), your tax agent or legal representative.  

3. How do I provide the financial guarantee to the FTA?
Follow these steps in order to provide the guarantee:
a. Visit your bank and create an electronic Guarantee, or a Bank Guarantee for the amount requested by the FTA. Upload a scanned copy of the guarantee with additional details and send it to us from your EmaraTax account. 
b. Physical Bank Guarantees must be delivered to FTA office in hard copy. The person delivering the bank guarantee must also hold a letter of undertaking issued by the authorized signatory of the applicant verifying their details. 

4. How do I pay the DZ registration renewal fee? 
Once the FTA has verified your Designated Zone amendment application and financial guarantee, you will be notified to make a payment in case of Designated Zone renewal. You can pay the registration renewal fee for the Designated Zone from your EmaraTax account using the e-Dirham payment. On payment, you will receive an email and an SMS notification informing you of the status of the application and payment status. Once the FTA confirms acceptance of your application, you will be notified on the decision. 

5. Do I need to upload supporting documents as part of the DZ registration amendment application? 
The supporting documents required for the application It depends on the application being submitted. For more details, please refer to the “Documents required" section in this page. Ensure that any data you type in the application is identical to the relevant supporting documents in order to avoid resubmitting your application

6. What happens after I submit my application? 
1. Processing your application:
a) Your application will be reviewed by FTA us. If additional information is required to assist the review of the application, we will contact you via email. You will be required to provide such additional information within the stipulated timeframe
b) Upon completing the review of the application, we will either approve or, in some cases, may have to reject the application. We will notify you via email its decision on your application.
c) Where an application is rejected, we will provide reason(s) for doing so. You may reapply but only once you have resolved the matters brought to your attention.
2. Designated Zone Inspection: 
a) The FTA may conduct physical inspection at your designated zone location, the inspection appointment shall be communicated via email and SMS notification informing you of the inspection details. You need to confirm the inspection appointment request from your EmaraTax account. 
3. Providing a Financial Security:
a) You may be required to provide a financial guarantee in relation to your Designated Zone registration amendment application. The FTA will determine the value of the guarantee to be provided and maintained by you. We will notify you by email and SMS with details of the value of the guarantee required.
b) Follow these steps in order to provide the guarantee :
a) Visit your bank and create an electronic Guarantee, or a Bank Guarantee for the amount requested by the FTA. Upload a scanned copy of the guarantee with additional details and send it to us from your EmaraTax account. 
b) Bank Guarantees must be delivered to FTA office in hard copy. The person delivering the bank guarantee must also hold a letter of undertaking issued by the authorized signatory of the applicant verifying their details. 
4. Paying the Registration Renewal Fee (only required for Designated Zone registration renewal):
a) Once the FTA has verified your Designated Zone amendment application and financial guarantee, you will be notified to make a payment in case of Designated Zone renewal. You can pay the registration renewal fee for the Designated Zone from your EmaraTax account using the e-Dirham payment. On payment, you will receive an email and an SMS notification informing you of the status of the application and payment status. Once the FTA confirms acceptance of your application, you will be notified on the decision. 
5. Updated Designated Zone Registration Certificate: 
a) Following approval of your Designated Zone amendment application, you will be notified on the application approval via email. You can download the below certificates from your EmaraTax account:
• Updated Designated Zone Registration certificate.
• Updated Warehouse Keeper Registration certificate 

7. What is the estimated time to complete application review by the FTA?
Generally, estimated time to complete the application by the FTA is 20 business days from the date the completed application was received. However, in case where any additional information is needed FTA may take additional time to process the application. The applicant needs to provide the additional information and re-submit the application. It may take the FTA a further 20 business days to respond to the updated application. If the application is not resubmitted within 60 calendar days from the date you received the notification from FTA, the application will be auto rejected.

8. How to check the status of the submitted application with the FTA?
To review the status of your submitted application, click on the dashboard tab and look next to Status:
• Drafted: You have not completed or submitted the application form
• In Review: Your application form has been received by FTA and is under processing
• Awaiting Information: You need to provide additional information to the FTA
• Rejected: Your application form has been rejected by the FTA
• Awaiting Financial Guarantee: Your application form has been reviewed by FTA and awaiting financial guarantee submission
• Awaiting Payment: Your application form has been reviewed by FTA and awaiting Designated Zone registration renewal fees payment
• Approved: Your application form has been approved by the FTA and your tax records have been successfully updated

The information given below is intended to help determine your eligibility to apply for this service:
• You are registered with the FTA as a Warehouse Keeper and have a valid Warehouse Keeper Number and Warehouse Keeper Certificate (including Designated Zones you supervise), and
• You are a Warehouse Keeper supervising the Designated Zone for which you want to amend the registration.