Free Trade Zones are special economic zones established to provide tax breaks and customs duty advantages to foreign investors. Free Zones, often referred to as free trade zones, free economic zones, or tax-free zones, are intended to provide easy single-window administration and 100% foreign ownership to expand international trade.
A company's audited financial statement must be submitted annually or at the time of license renewal to the UAE Free Zone license issuing authority. The yearly audit report must be submitted if the business is registered with free zone authorities. A registered business may be subject to hefty fines if they fail to submit an audit report. The audit in the free zone must be carried out effectively to prevent fines and penalties.
Free Zone companies can choose their own Financial year according to their requirement. The only constrain is that, the financial year must start from date of incorporation of the company and should not be less than 6 months and not greater than 18 months.
As approved auditors for all of the major free zones in the UAE, GAAP Associates can assist you in preparing audit reports in these free zones. Below is a list of the free zones where we have approval.