India-UAE Tax, FEMA and Structuring Guides

The India-UAE corridor is where most of our work begins. A Dubai company owned from India has to satisfy two systems at once. On the Indian side, the money must leave through the right FEMA route, the company must be managed in the UAE if it is to stay outside Indian tax, and dividends, loans and service fees between the two countries carry withholding and transfer pricing consequences. On the UAE side, the company pays corporate tax at 9% above AED 375,000 unless it qualifies for the free-zone rate, files returns within nine months, and keeps transfer pricing records.

For individuals, the questions are about residence. Indians living in the UAE are usually non-resident in India, but the 120-day and deemed residency rules catch frequent visitors and those with significant Indian income, and a UAE tax residency certificate is the key document for treaty relief.

These guides follow the order in which the questions usually arise: what the UAE will tax, how to fund the company from India, how to keep management in the UAE, and how the treaty and residency rules apply.