Warehouse Keeper Registration

According to UAE tax laws, Warehouse Keeper Registration is one of the most crucial requirements for businesses in charge of excise goods located in Designated Zones. FAR Consulting Middle East offers professional services to support a business through the intricacies of registering as a Warehouse Keeper under the new regulations.The details have been spelt out in Ministerial Decision 108 of 2023 for the movements and storage of excise goods in such designated zones. Therefore, the whole process emphasizes businesses, which trade in some excise goods such as tobacco, energy drinks, and carbonated beverages, under the legal requirements set by the Federal Tax Authority.

How To Define The Term “Warehouse Keeper”?

A Designated Zone is an area treated for Excise Tax purposes as outside the UAE by the FTA. It is an area where a Warehouse Keeper manages and keeps goods liable to excise tax, produced or stored without the goods having been released for consumption in the UAE. Such goods normally include tobacco, alcohol, carbonated beverages, and energy drinks. The Designated Zone is to be fenced and will have security and customs controls that monitor the entry and exit of goods. FAR Consulting Middle East provides full know-how, from fulfilling the criteria for registration to follow-up with FTA rules for being a Warehouse Keeper.

Registration Procedure: Provision of Warehouse Keeper

• Application Submission:- The online Warehouse Keeper Registration form can be filed with FTA. In case of approval, the application shall be provided with all the relevant information that shall be submitted to the Authority including but not limited to: the type of excise goods that shall be managed and location of the Designated Zone. FAR Consulting Middle East ensures that companies provide error-free applications with all information, thus avoiding delays in processing.
• Effective Date and Approval:- It should be pointed out that FTA will approve the application once the submitted application is in line with all the conditions stipulated. The effective date of a Warehouse Keeper Registration is on the date of approval or any other date agreed to by the registrant and the FTA. FAR Consulting Middle East works closely with clients in this regard to align their operations according to the approved date, which causes minimum disruptions.
• Granting of Warehouse Keeper Registration Certificate:- In return the FTA would grant a Warehouse Keeper registration certificate which would show the approval. It will specify the list of the Designated Zones for which he is held responsible and provides legal authorization to manufacture or warehousing of the excise goods while not supplying those goods in the UAE. FAR Consulting Middle East helps businesses understand the scope of their responsibilities under the registration certificate.

Conditions and Obligations for Warehouse Keeper Registration

FTA may prescribe any other condition for the Warehouse Keepers to be implemented in such a way as not to violate the Law of Excise Tax. As provided under Clause 5 of the Ministerial Decision inclusively:

• Storage Limits:- The FTA has the authority to determine the storage limit of excise goods within the Designated Zone at any one point in time.
• Type of Goods:- A Warehouse Keeper is permitted to handle just the types of excise goods as specified in the registration and may be restricted to tobacco products or energy drinks, or carbonated beverages.
• Financial security:- According to the regulation, a Warehouse Keeper would be expected to give adequate guarantee of every Designated Zone in the operation to cater for taxation.
• Reporting Requirements:- This will also mean submitting to the FTA from time to time on the movement or storage of the excise goods in the Designated Zone. FAR Consulting Middle East assists clients in the most effective way to make these notifications particularly in the event that they need to notify their customers. FAR Consulting Middle East creates and/or maintains mechanisms for reporting necessary for compliance.
• Physical Security:- Appropriate physical security shall be implemented in each Designated Zone, including fencing, customs controls, and entry/exit procedures, in accordance with the standard criteria established by the FTA.

FAR Consulting Middle East provides professional advice to enable individual businesses to fulfill these preconditions in the interest of operating their work within the legal framework and discouraging them from facing penalties.

Notice and Compliance Requirements

In such an event, when the circumstances affecting their registration change, the Warehouse Keeper must notify the FTA of changes in the operational structure of the Designated Zone or the halting of responsibility for a particular area within 30 days. 

Cancellation of Registration

If a Warehouse Keeper has defaulted its responsibility or it feels that there should not be Warehouses anymore, then it can be deregistered by FTA.It is the responsibility of all the Warehouse Keepers to ensure that its requirements are met at all times so that cancellation does not occur.

Deregistration Application

The Warehouse Keeper, who does not want to further his activities within the Designated Zone, may do so through deregistration with FTA. He may formally request the FTA for final deregistration after fulfilling all the obligations of the period on record. FAR Consulting Middle East supports the Warehouse Keeper by ensuring a smooth transition in the deregistration process in preparation and submission of all relevant documentation and communication correspondence necessary with FTA.

Ongoing Compliance and Reporting

Compliance and reporting denote the standards that must be met and the documentation that has to be produced on a continuous basis.Non-compliance may result in revocation or penalty. FAR Consulting Middle East provides professional compliance management services, including periodic auditing of excise goods and monitoring of the movement of goods within the Designated Zone, securing observance by the client of all requirements of FTA and preventing any possible penalties.

Conclusively,for producing and stocking the excise goods, Warehouse Keeper registration is necessary for the business in the United Arab Emirates. Currently the Ministerial Decision 108 of 2023 imposes particularly strict measures to prevent violation of the excise tax legislation. Under FAR Consulting Middle East’s professional advice, a company can solve the problems related to registration, to fulfill all the requirements, and maintain compliance with the FTA standards.FAR Consulting Middle East will save the enterprise from the headaches of the registration process and further penalties by the FTA; the company will also free up more time for them to build on core business. For any assistance concerning Warehouse Keeper registration, excise tax compliance or any ancillary issue, FAR Consulting Middle East are here for a smooth, legally compliant process.