United Arab Emirates
Offshore company in Ras al Khaimah International Corporation Centre (RAK ICC)
Free Zone Company

Benefits of Offshore Company registration in RAK ICC

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    1 Director, 1 Shareholder Required, No Locals

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    Exemption from All Local Taxes

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    Incorporation in 3-5 days

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    No Filing of Financial Records, No Auditing

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    No Foreign Exchange Controls, Trade Restrictions or Barriers

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    No Public Record for Directors and Shareholders

RAK ICC Offshore Company activities

Under the RAK ICC Business Companies Regulations 2016, an international company, registered under RAK ICC, is an independent legal personality and has unlimited power to engage in any business provided that the activity is allowed by the regulations enacted by the relevant Free Zone Authority and its constitutional documents. Restricted activities include banking, insurance, reinsurance, assurance, collective investment funds, collective investment fund or trust management. A prime limitation imposed by the relevant Authority is that an offshore company is restricted to pursue business within the territory of the Free Zone and the UAE, apart from engaging the professional services of locals, opening and maintaining a bank account within the RAK Free Zone and owning real estate and other assets .

RAK ICC Offshore Company is optimal for:

  1. International Business
  2. Making Investments
  3. Commercial Trading
  4. Ownership of Intellectual Property
  5. Consultation and Technology services

Benefits of Company registered in Free Zones

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    1 Director, 1 Shareholder Required, No Locals

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    Exemption from All Local Taxes

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    Network of Double Tax Treaties

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    No Filing of Financial Records, No Auditing

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    No Foreign Exchange Controls, Trade Restrictions or Barriers

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    No records for accessed by the public

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    Reputable Financial Forum

Activities of a company registered in the Free Zone

Once the company is incorporated, it is able to carry any lawful business in the Free Zone provided by the relevant License obtained. The available types of license are the following commercial, general trading, consultancy, premium consultancy and premium commercial. Unlike other traditional offshore jurisdictions where the companies are not allowed to commence trading within their territory in order to be tax exempted, the companies registered as onshore in Free Zones are tax exempted and can obtain a trade license to operate within the Free Zone specifically for their sector.

Also, in this Free Zone a company registered overseas may submit to relevant authority in the Free Zone an application to register a Branch. A company registered in Free Trade Zones gives company shareholders, managers and personnel the ability to receive UAE residence visas and is not subject to taxation.

Company owners and personnel registered onshore in UAE Free Zones are given the ability to obtain residency permit in the UAE in their capacity as the company’s shareholders, the same option is also provided for the company’s employees.

Free Zone Company is optimal for:

  1. International Business
  2. Making Investments
  3. Commercial Trading
  4. Ownership of Intellectual Property
  5. Consultation and Technology services

RAK ICC Offshore Company Incorporation checklist

If you are considering the incorporation of an Offshore Company in RAK ICC, you should take into consideration the following points:

Company name

The company’s name must not be very similar to existing names unless they are affiliated or belonging in the same group. It may contain up to 100 characters and abbreviations, foreign characters and numbers are subject to extra approval. It must end with a word or abbreviation signifying a corporate body or limited liability, for example, “Limited” or “LTD” and “Incorporated” or “Inc.”.

The following words are prohibited: “Insurance”, “Reinsurance”, “Assurance”, “Bank” and any other words implying activity prohibited by the Law. There is also a prohibition for words which may be considered by the registry as misleading or confusing in their meaning and words deemed to have offensive or questionable meaning.

Registered office

A RAK ICC offshore company is required to have a registered office which must be provided by registered agent authorised by the RAK ICC to provide this service.

Directors and Secretary

One director is the minimum required, there is no requirement for them to be locals and there is no requirement regarding the place and frequency of the board meetings. Meetings may be held by telephone or other electronic methods of communication and the directors may vote by proxy.

Corporate entities or natural persons can be appointed as directors. The director and shareholder can be the same person. The directors’ details are not registered on the public record and cannot be accessed by the public, those details are only held by the company’s registered agent of the IBC.

The appointment of a secretary mandatory, there is no requirement for them to be locals and a corporate entity or a natural person can be appointed as secretary.

Shareholders

One shareholder is the minimum required, there is no requirement for them to be locals and corporate entities or natural persons can be appointed as shareholders. There is no requirement regarding the place and frequency of the shareholders meetings. Meetings may be held by telephone or other electronic methods of communication and the shareholders may vote by proxy.

The director and shareholder can be the same person. The shareholders details are not registered on the public record and cannot be accessed by the public; those details are only held by the registered agent of the company.

Beneficial owners

The beneficial owners’ details are not registered on the public record and cannot be accessed by the public; those details are only held by the registered agent of the company.

Share capital

The company’s owners are free to determine any amount as the authorised share capital of the company and it can be denominated in any currency, though the amount of AED 10,000 is suggested. The authorised share capital must be determined at incorporation and is the maximum amount of capital that the company is authorised by its constitutional documents to draw from its shareholders, in exchange of the shares issued.

The company’s shares can be issued even if they are partially paid up. They can be issued with or without par value, at fractional value and with or without voting rights, preferential or common and may be issued in any currency. Bearer shares are not permitted.   

Paid up capital

No requirement is imposed on minimum paid up capital at incorporation; this means that shareholders are not required to set a deadline as to when such capital must be paid up.

Incorporation period

An offshore company in RAK ICC Company can be incorporated within 3-5 days.

Shelf companies

Ready-made but unused companies are available in RAK ICC Company, in case you are in need of a quicker incorporation process.

Economic substance

It is prohibited for an offshore company in RAK ICC Company to have economic substance in the jurisdiction, this means that its income generating activity must be conducted anywhere else in the world.

Accounting records & annual returns

The offshore company must keep accounting records that the directors deem to be required, about the company’s assets and liabilities to reflect accurately its financial situation. However, the offshore company is not required to file its accounting records, nor an annual tax return.  It is also not required that the accounting records are audited.

Taxation

There is an exemption for the offshore companies which do not carry out business in the UAE and onshore companies registered in the Free Zones from any corporate or income tax concerning the company’s business and from any duty on all imports and exports on goods or services except to Gulf Cooperation Council countries. In addition, no tax is imposed on dividends, interest, royalties, revenues and rental or capital gains.  There is V.A.T. at 5% on most goods and services.

Disclaimer: Buy Now Companies and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Materials provided by Buy Now Companies and [insert domain name] have been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, or accounting advisor with regard to your own tax, legal, or accounting scenario. Nothing on this webpage shall be construed as a contractual commitment or as a warranty. Services conditions are governed by the applicable terms and conditions.

Free Zone company incorporation checklist

If you are considering the incorporation in the Free Zone, you should check the following points:

Company name

The name of the company must not contain sensitive words which the appropriate authority may consider undesirable. The relevant authority from time to time determines words which are considered prohibited. There is also a prohibition for words implying patronage or any connection with an already registered company or branch, a prominent person in the UAE, government or authority of UAE or any other country.

The company’s name must not be very similar to existing names of existing companies or Branches. It must not contain words constituting registered intellectual property rights in the Free Zone or UAE in general and it any words for which a prior approval must be obtained by a relevant authority.

Registered office

A company registered in this free zone is required to have a registered office address in the Free Zone.

Directors and Secretary

A company in the Free Zone is required to have a secretary and a director, one is the minimum required and they can be the same person.  There is no requirement for them to be locals.

Shareholders

One shareholder is the minimum required and 50 the maximum allowed, there’s no requirement for them to be locals and corporate entities can be appointed as shareholders, but they have to be represented by a duly authorised natural person. There’s no requirement regarding the place of shareholder meetings but one annual general meeting must be held every year.

Beneficial owners

The beneficial owner’s details are not registered on the public record and cannot be accessed by the public.

Authorized share capital

The authorised capital of a company registered in the Free Zone, must not be less than AED 300,000 and it must be denominated in Arab Emirate Dirham (AED), please note that it is not required that this amount be deposited in a bank account. The authorised capital is the maximum amount of capital that the company is authorised by its constitutional documents to draw from its shareholders to issue in exchange shares.

Only registered shares are admissible, and each share shall not be less than AED 1,000 par value. A company in this Free Zone may not issue bearer shares and they’re must not be different classes of shares.

Paid up capital

There is a requirement that the authorised capital must be fully issued and paid on incorporation.

Incorporation period

For a company to be incorporated the memorandum of incorporation must be signed by the subscriber. It is also mandatory that each person whether a natural person or legal entity signing this document to have visited the UAE in the last 6 months from the application, in order to prove that the person must have their passport marked with a stamp from UAE. A company is incorporated in this Free Zone within 2 or 3 weeks.

Shelf companies

Ready-made but unused companies are not available in this Free Zone.

Economic substance

It is mandatory for a company in the Free Zone to have its physical office within the relevant Free Zone, which also serves as the company’s registered office. The company must conclude a lease agreement which will be presented to the relevant authority of the Free Zone.

Accounting records and annual returns

Companies registered in most Free Zones must keep accounting records but for internal use only. They are required to file audited accounts and annual returns to the relevant regulatory body.

Taxation

There is an exemption for onshore companies registered in the Free Zones from any corporate or income tax concerning the company’s business and from any duty on all imports and exports on goods or services except to Gulf Cooperation Council countries. These exemptions are beneficial for businesses wishing to keep the company’s maintenance costs low, especially for manufacturers or service providers who will incorporate an onshore company in the Free Zone.  Also, there are no foreign currency restrictions and the country has signed a vast number of Double Taxation Treaties, in total with more than 50 countries.

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