Exporting and re-exporting goods from the UAE

To export goods from the UAE, a business with a licence that allows trading and a customs code files an export or re-export declaration with the customs authority before the goods leave. Duty paid on imported goods can be refunded when they are re-exported unused within a year, and a VAT-registered exporter zero-rates the sale if the goods leave within 90 days with proof.

Key takeaways

• An exporter needs a licence that allows trading and a customs code; proof of the exporter's activity is required for the code.
• Every export or re-export is declared to customs; Dubai Customs charges AED 15 to AED 100 for an export declaration, plus AED 20 on fees of AED 50 or more.
• Duty paid on imported goods can be refunded if, among other conditions, they are re-exported unused within 365 days of paying it and the claim is made within 180 days of the re-export.
• Goods held in a free zone pay no customs duty and can be re-exported without duty.
• A VAT-registered exporter zero-rates goods that leave within 90 days of the supply, if it keeps the customs and transport evidence.

On this page 10 sections

Export, re-export and transit

An export sends goods out of the UAE, a re-export sends out goods that were first imported, and transit moves foreign goods across the UAE without releasing them for local use, against a guarantee in place of the duty. Each is declared to customs. The GCC unified customs procedures, which the UAE applies, allow foreign goods to be re-exported in these cases:

• goods still in customs warehouses, or stored in bonded warehouses with the duty suspended;
• goods under temporary admission, or imported for the purpose of re-export;
• foreign goods on which duty has been paid;
• goods rejected by the competent authority.

Goods banned locally or internationally, or subject to international conventions and treaties in force, cannot be re-exported.

What an exporter needs

An exporter needs a licence whose activities allow trading, a customs code from the customs authority it uses, and any certificate or permit that the goods or the buyer require.

Licence and customs code

On the Dubai mainland, the Department of Economy and Tourism’s commercial licence covers trading activities such as general trading, import and export, wholesale and retail. Free zone companies import, export and re-export under their free zone licence. The options are compared in UAE trade licence types and free zone company setup.

The GCC unified procedures require proof of the exporter’s activity for a customs code, so the licence comes first. In Dubai, the code comes with registration at Dubai Customs:

Dubai Customs business registration

AED 100 + AED 20; 1 working day

Any business that uses Dubai Customs services must register with Dubai Customs; the Request Business Registration service costs AED 100 (plus the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee charged on service costs of AED 50 and above), needs a copy of the trade licence and the authorised person's passport and Emirates ID, and is completed in 1 working day, after which the company receives its registration and customs code by email.

Other emirates have their own customs authorities and registration channels, as the guide to importing goods into the UAE explains. Declarations can be filed by the exporter, its representative or an authorised customs broker.

Certificates and permits

Dubai Customs lists a certificate of origin among the documents for a customs declaration, and a buyer or the destination country may also ask for one; the guide to certificates of origin explains who issues them and how to apply. Restricted goods need the controlling authority’s permit, and banned, counterfeit or infringing goods cannot be exported at all. Customs notices add restrictions: Dubai Customs Notice 13/2026, for example, temporarily bans exports of certain iron, copper and aluminium waste and scrap, and the ban renews automatically unless a later notice cancels it.

The export declaration

Each consignment leaves on a customs declaration filed electronically with its documents; customs inspects goods based on risk and then issues the exit permit.

Dubai Customs declaration

AED 15 to AED 100 per declaration

Dubai Customs charges AED 15 to AED 100 for an import or export declaration depending on the declaration type and shipping channel (transit AED 15 to AED 80, transfer AED 80, temporary admission AED 100), plus the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee on service costs of AED 50 and above; the documents required are the invoice, the packing list, the certificate of origin and any permit from a restricting authority, and the service completion time is 2 working hours.

Under the GCC procedures, a packing list for several items, where customs asks for one, shows each item’s HS code, and customs may ask for Arabic translations of foreign invoices. Where it applies, a re-export declaration also attaches a copy of the original import declaration, so that customs can match the goods. The paperwork is kept long after the goods have gone:

Keeping customs records

5 calendar years

The owner of the goods, their representative or the authorised customs broker must keep customs records, on paper and electronically, for five calendar years from the date the customs procedures were completed, and provide them to the customs authority on request.

Re-exporting imported goods

Duty on re-exported goods is refunded, released or never charged, depending on how the goods entered the UAE.

Refund of the duty paid on import

The GCC unified customs procedures refund duty when the same goods leave again, unused and in time.

Duty refund on re-export

Re-export within 365 days; claim within 180 days

Customs duty paid on foreign goods can be refunded on re-export if the re-exporter is the original importer or proves ownership, the goods are re-exported within one year (365 days) of paying the duty on first import from outside the GCC, the refund claim is made within six months (180 days) of re-export, the goods are unused and in the same condition, and their value is not less than SAR 20,000 or the equivalent in another GCC currency; the refund is limited to the duty actually paid.

The claim goes to the customs authority at the first point of entry, with proof that the duty was paid, the import declaration and the re-export declaration stamped at the exit customs centre to confirm that the goods left the GCC. The goods must come from a single shipment so they can be matched with the import declaration, although that shipment can leave in parts. How the duty itself is worked out is covered in UAE customs duty.

Goods imported for re-export and temporary admission

Goods brought in only to be sent on can be cleared against a guarantee instead of the duty.

Import for re-export

Guarantee instead of duty; up to 180 days

Under the GCC unified customs procedures, goods imported for the purpose of re-export are cleared against a financial, banking or documentary guarantee equal to the customs duties due instead of paying the duty; the importation period may not exceed six months (180 days), the goods may not be used or disposed of in the meantime, and they may be re-exported outside the GCC countries or deposited in free zones, bonded warehouses or customs warehouses; guarantees are released, or cash guarantees applied to the duty, when goods are placed into local consumption, disposed of, or the 180 days expire, with the duty then due.

Temporary admission works in a similar way for goods that enter for a set purpose and leave again, such as project equipment, exhibition items, machines for repair and commercial samples. It ends when the goods are re-exported outside the GCC, placed in a free zone, customs warehouse or bonded warehouse, or released for local use once the duty is paid. In Dubai, the deposit or guarantee is reclaimed after export, with proof that the goods left:

Dubai Customs refund claim

AED 50 per declaration; 5 working days

Dubai Customs charges AED 50 per declaration to claim a refund of a deposit, or release of a guarantee, paid instead of customs duty; the claim needs proof of export (exit/entry certificate, export declaration, manifest, bill of lading or airway bill, depending on the mode of transport) and is completed in 5 working days.

Free zone re-exports

Goods brought into a free zone pay no customs duty while they are kept there for re-export.

Customs duty in a free zone

0% customs duty in the free zone; duty on entry to the mainland

Free zone companies can import, export and re-export goods, with 0% customs duty on goods imported into the free zone and no customs duty on goods stored there for re-export; goods become subject to UAE customs duty only when moved into the mainland market.

Goods leaving a free zone for the local market are subject to duty when they leave the zone, according to ICP. Dubai Customs Notice 18/2026 lets goods stored in the Jebel Ali, Dubai Logistics City and Dubai International Airport free zones be exported outside the UAE without a cash or bank guarantee for the duty, provided they leave through the same customs office.

For VAT, only free zones named by Cabinet decision as Designated Zones are treated as outside the UAE, and only while they meet conditions on fencing, customs controls and the handling of goods. The treatment is for goods, and even then goods supplied in a zone to be consumed there are, with some exceptions, treated as supplied in the UAE; so are most services supplied in a zone (Article 51 of the VAT Executive Regulation). Moving or supplying goods into a Designated Zone from elsewhere in the UAE is not an export (Article 30(3)).

VAT on exports

A VAT-registered business charges 0% VAT on goods exported to a place “outside the Implementing States”, if they leave in time and it keeps the evidence; otherwise the sale is taxed like a local one. How the zero rate works in general is covered in zero-rated supplies and the glossary entry on a zero-rated supply.

The 90-day rule

Zero-rating exported goods

Export within 90 days, with evidence

A direct export of goods is zero-rated if the goods are physically exported outside the GCC Implementing States, or placed under a customs suspension regime, within 90 days of the date of supply, and the exporter keeps either a customs declaration and commercial evidence, a shipping certificate and official evidence, or (for customs suspension) a customs declaration proving the suspension; if the goods are not exported in time, VAT is due as on a local supply.

An indirect export, arranged by the overseas customer rather than the supplier, also requires that the goods are not used or altered before leaving, except to prepare them for export, and do not leave with a passenger or crew member (Article 30(2)). The FTA can extend the deadline on a written application when circumstances beyond both parties’ control, or the nature of the supply, prevent export in time (Article 30(7)). Without an extension, a late export is taxed at the rate for a supply in the UAE (Article 30(9)):

Standard VAT rate

5%

UAE VAT is charged at a standard rate of 5% on taxable supplies and imports of goods and services, unless a supply is zero-rated or exempt.

The words “outside the Implementing States” decide how sales to other GCC countries are treated. Implementing States are GCC states that apply VAT and meet the conditions in UAE law, and the FTA’s published position is:

GCC Implementing States

No other GCC state recognised as an Implementing State (FTA, July 2020)

A GCC state is treated as an Implementing State for UAE VAT only if it treats the UAE as an Implementing State in its published legislation and fully complies with the Common VAT Agreement of the GCC States; the FTA has stated that the UAE currently does not recognise any other state as an Implementing State.

On that position, a GCC destination is treated like any other place outside the Implementing States, until another GCC state comes to meet the conditions.

Evidence to keep

The exporter keeps one of three sets of evidence, and the documents must identify the supplier, the consignor, the goods, their value, the destination, and the mode and route of transport (Article 30(5)).

The FTA can reject documents that do not prove the goods left the UAE and can specify other evidence (Article 30(6)).

Exports to other GCC states

Goods produced in a GCC state move between the member states as national goods, and foreign goods on which duty was paid at the first point of entry are not charged duty again.

GCC Customs Union

Customs Union since 1 January 2003; duty paid at first point of entry

The GCC Customs Union has operated since 1 January 2003: member states apply a common external tariff, customs duty is collected once at the first point of entry into the Union, and goods on which duty was paid there move between member states without being charged again.

ICP adds two conditions: if payment at the first point of entry cannot be proven, the destination state collects the duty at its border, and goods exempted from duty under a free trade agreement are charged duty when they enter another member state. Goods produced in any member state are treated as national goods in all of them. Because a duty refund needs a declaration confirming that the goods left the GCC, sending duty-paid goods to another GCC state does not bring the duty back.

Exporting step by step

The sequence follows the GCC unified procedures and the VAT rules; portals and document names differ between emirates.

1. Licence and customs code for an activity that allows trading.
2. HS code for each item.
3. Destination rules: the destination country’s import rules, any preference under the UAE’s CEPA trade agreements, and any UAE export ban covering the goods.
4. Certificate of origin and permits, where the buyer, the destination or the goods require them.
5. Transport booked, with the waybill, bill of lading or manifest that later proves the export.
6. Declaration filed by the exporter or a customs broker, with the fees paid.
7. Exit permit after any inspection, with the exit evidence kept.
8. VAT evidence: the goods out within 90 days of the supply, and the evidence kept.
9. Duty refund for re-exported duty-paid goods, claimed within 180 days of the re-export.

Worked example

VAT and duty on an export and a re-export

The amounts, goods and dates are illustrations.

1. A VAT-registered business sells goods with a value of AED 50,000 before VAT to a customer abroad. They leave within 90 days of the supply, with an export declaration and a sea waybill. VAT: AED 50,000 × 0% = AED 0.
2. Had they not left in time, with no extension from the FTA, VAT on that value would be AED 50,000 × 5% = AED 2,500. If the AED 50,000 were the whole amount received, with no VAT added, the VAT inside it would be AED 50,000 × 5/105 = AED 2,380.95.
3. Separately, goods with a cost, insurance and freight value of AED 200,000 are imported from outside the GCC and cleared for local use. Duty at the general rate of 5% of that value: AED 200,000 × 5% = AED 10,000.
4. Seven months after the duty was paid, the same business re-exports the goods unused, inside the 365-day limit. Their value is well above the SAR 20,000 floor.
5. The refund claim is made within 180 days of the re-export, and the refund is limited to the duty actually paid: up to AED 10,000.

VAT on the export: AED 0; duty refundable on the re-export: up to AED 10,000.

Every published guide on customs and trade is listed on the Trade and customs guides page.