The Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has informed that the filing deadline for 2019 Economic Substance notifications and reports is postponed from 31 December 2020 to 31 January 2021.
This step is taken by the UAE Ministry of Finance in light of coronavirus pandemic, but the extension applies to all UAE companies irrespective of type of their activity. The filing deadline extension for abovementioned 2019 reporting documents is an exceptional measure and is organised once, so that the deadline will not be postponed further to any other date.
Thus, all UAE companies with no exception, including those which do not conduct Relevant Activities, must file 2019 Economic Substance notification in electronic form before 31 January 2021.
Also, the obligation to file Economic Substance report in electronic form with competent authority is established for UAE companies which conduct activities qualified as Relevant Activities for purposes of Economic Substance. Regarding the 2019 Economic Substance report the filing deadline was also postponed from 31 December 2020 to 31 January 2021.
Both documents must be filed through ES portal of the Ministry of Finance. If the new deadline is met, the penalties under UAE laws will not be imposed even in case of not meeting the initial deadline (31 December). When even a new deadline is not met, the UAE company itself is subject to a penalty in the amount of 20 000 dirhams (about 5 400 USD) for notification and 50 000 dirhams (about 13 500 USD) for report.