corporate and commercial Archives - Fichte & Co

August 19, 2019

Abraaj gets Dh1.156 billion DFSA fine

Some major violations committed by Abraaj entities include carrying out unauthorised financial services. Dubai regulator on Tuesday penalised two Abraaj Group entities with a record Dh1.156 billion in fines - the biggest penalty by any regulatory authority in the UAE - for violating its regulations and deceiving investors. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) said...

Compliance Alert: 10 Things you Must Know about the New Economic Substance Regulations in the UAE

Executive Summary The UAE recently enacted the Cabinet Decision No. 31/2019 concerning the economic substance regulations (the “Regulations” or the “Economic Substance Regulations”) on 30 April 2019 in response to the European Union (EU) adding the UAE to the blacklist of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes in March 2019. The Regulations primarily apply to companies...

UAE Reduces the Official Fees for Trademark Registration

Pursuant to Cabinet Decision no. 51 of 2019, the United Arab Emirates announced a new amended fee and fine structure where in it has cancelled the fees for 102 services and reduced the charges for other services among 110 services offered by the Ministry of Economy, including those related to intellectual property matters , as...

DIFC Proposes New Data Protection Law

On 18 June 2019, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) issued Consultation Paper No. 6 of 2019 (“Consultation Paper”) seeking public comments on the proposal by the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA) to issue a new Data Protection Law aimed at enhancing the existing legal framework on data protection in the DIFC (“Proposed Law”)....

New Foreign Direct Investment Law (Federal Law No. 19 of 2018): Upto 100% Foreign Ownership in the UAE

The Government of UAE has always taken initiatives in the improvement of the economy of the country by amending the existing Law or introducing new Laws, to attract more foreign investors to the country. Among several initiatives taken by the Govt of UAE, in November last year, a law permitting 100 per cent foreign ownership...

UPDATE: New DIFC Wills and Probate Rules

The DIFC Wills and Probate Registry (WPR) has been established as an official mechanism for non-Muslims to register their wills and have it enforced through the DIFC Courts. Previously there was a lot of uncertainty with regards to the registration of wills of non-Muslims since Shari’a principles govern inheritance throughout the UAE. If an expatriate...

December 19, 2018

Director Liabilities Under UAE Laws

There are various provisions under Federal Law no. 2 of 2015 on the Commercial Companies Law (“CCL”) which relate to directors’ and managers’ liabilities and duty of care. The CCL is the most referenced legislation when dealing with directors’ duties and day to day management of their companies. There is no uniform set of legislation...

November 26, 2018

Five Practical Steps to Transferring Shares in a Limited Liability Company in Dubai

The M&A deal is nearing closing. You now have to transfer the shares of a limited liability company (“LLC”) in Dubai – how do you go about it? This ‘how-to’ note sets out the key steps involved in transferring shares of a Dubai-based LLC. Step 1: Fill up the Registration and Licensing Application Form Fill...

November 6, 2018

UPDATE: New Foreign Direct Investments Law

Earlier this year, the UAE government announced that foreigners will be allowed to retain 100% ownership in UAE mainland companies. Federal Decree Law no. 19 of 2018 on Foreign Direct Investments (“FDI Law”) has finally been issued and introduces the process by which the UAE authorities will govern foreign direct investments. Below we have highlighted...