Dubai Auto Zone is an ideal Free Zone for businesses in the Auto Industry, attracting buyers, sellers, service providers, traders, and more. Setting up a business in DAZ provides access to the UAE’s expanding market with relevant support. Over 400 businesses, including Boeing International Corporation, Aramex, and Emirates Post, are located in DAZ’s bonded area of one million square meters near key airports and seaports. JAFZA runs DAZ and provides high-quality services. The UAE government created DAZ in 2000 to enable the broad-scale export of luxury vehicles to the Emirates. DAZ is located near an international airport and modern seaports and offers a dedicated economic zone for various business activities in the GCC countries.
Everyone knows that the entire UAE and specifically Dubai is home to some of the most expensive and luxurious automobiles in the world. From Rolls Royce to Bugatti and Ferrari, there is no single luxury or supercar brand that you won’t find in the UAE.
To enrich the UAE market with some of the renowned automobiles, the UAE government came up with the idea to set up dedicated Free Zones jurisdictions in the UAE. These Free Zones are named Auto Zones that allow local and foreign investors to operate a highly lucrative business of imported cars in the UAE. Among all these Auto Zones, Dubai Auto Zone has grown in prominence due to its remarkable business ecosystem and features.
New networks of freeways connecting all the neighboring nations in the Middle Eastern peninsula and beyond make it easier to load and unload cars to all parts of the continent in order to reach and meet the continuously increasing demand for luxury cars from customers living in Asia and Africa.
The market is still growing at a rapid pace as more and more people are choosing UAE as their dream living and business destination.
In this blog post, we are going to discuss how you can create a business setup in Dubai Auto Zone and leverage the privileges of this remarkable Free Zone. Let’s get into more details.
How to Setup Business in Dubai Auto Zone?
Since DAZ is one of the many Free Zones in the UAE, it shares the same registration processes as other Free Zone jurisdictions. Therefore, the process to set up a business in Dubai Auto Zone aligns with that of setting up a business in other Free Zones.
Step 1: Find your business activity
The first step to creating a business setup in Dubai Auto Zone is to choose your business activity allowed in the Dubai Auto Zone. You can choose from a range of business activities linked with the automobile industry but business activities linked with the import or export of auto spare parts is strictly prohibited in the Free Zone.
Your business activity involves all your operations as well as economic and financial activities that you will perform thorough your business duration in the Free Zone. Choosing the right business activity is crucial to avoid any delay or denial in the trade license approval process.
Step 2: Choose a trading name
Choose a trade or business name that aligns with the mission, vision, business activities, and target audience of your business setup in Dubai Auto Zone. Once you decide on your trade name or need assistance in finding the right tradename for your business, get in touch with Airzone. Airzone will help you connect with the right company formation service providers to help you find and register your trade name seamlessly.
Keep in mind, if your trade name fails to align with the moral and religious norms and legal foundations of the UAE or state laws of Dubai, you may face rejection. To save your time and effort, it is recommended to partner with experienced business consultancy services.
Step 3: Apply for business registration with JAFZA
Before jumping on a bandwagon to start your journey for company formation in Dubai Auto Zone, hold on for a moment and go through the legal structure and prerequisites as notified by the UAE’s corporate legislature. The initial steps and documents required to register your business setup in Dubai Auto Zone include:
- Starting with a business registration application with Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA regulates and authorizes the Dubai Auto Zone)
- Submitting your business’s memo of association
- Getting the UAE Trade License
- Applying for an establishment card with the Ministry of Labor which is issued by the immigration authority of UAE, with documents required as under:
- Original Emirates ID
- Passport of UAE sponsor
- Old Immigration card
- A valid Trade license
- Copy of Passport with valid visa page of all partners for Free Zone Company
- Confirmed and potential employees must be registered with the Ministry of Labor, with the documents required as under:
- UAE’s Residence visa
- Copy of Passport with valid visa page
- Contract of Employment
- Labour card.
- Emirates ID
Step 4: Opening a Free Zone Bank Account
For company formation in Dubai Auto Zone, the most crucial step is to open your business bank account. Some of the prerequisites mandatory to open a Free Zone bank account for your business setup in Dubai Auto Zone include:
- Proof of physical presence for all business partners at the time of submitting their documents.
- Off-shore businesses opening a Free Zone bank account need to verify and certify their documents from the Consulate of Emirates (for the state they are going to set up in).
- The next step for any off-shore company is to certify their documents from the UAE’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Below is the list of documents required for opening a business bank account in the UAE:
- Complete Business Profile
- Last 6 months’ bank statement
- Resume of the account holder and other stakeholders involved
- Proof of physical existence
- Valid Passport or Emirates ID
- Trade License
- Company’s regulatory document
- Directors Resolution
Step 5: Finalize your office location
For your business setup in Dubai Auto Zone, you can buy or rent office spaces, warehouses, and well-equipped garages. The needs of automobile businesses especially those linked with the import and export of cars are different and greater than those of mainstream businesses. Therefore, the warehouse and garage options in Dubai Auto Zone are specifically designed to fulfill the needs of automobile businesses with instant access to nearby ports and motorways
Also, you can choose from a wide range of office space, warehouses, workshops, garages, and automobile showrooms available for lease in the JAFZA-authorized Dubai Auto Zone.
License Options & Cost in Dubai Auto Zone
The breakdown of license costs and options in Dubai Auto Zone includes:
- The application Fee is 525 AED.
- Commercial License Fees begin at 5,500 AED.
- Online Establishment Application is AED 2,500.
- AED 2,000 will cost to acquire Computer Immigration Card.
- Expenses for the Chamber of Commerce are AED 2,200.
- An employment / Residency Visa in the Country will cost AED 4,809.
- An employment / Resident Visa Outside of the country will cost AED 4,021.
- AED 1,240 is required for the Emirates ID Application and Medical Exam.
All fees charged by the government and associated authorities are simply estimates. The precise government fees will be decided at the time the applications are submitted.
Cost to Setup Business in Dubai Auto Zone
The registration charge is AED 10,000 once, and the license fee is AED 5,500 annually. Regarding the comprehensive breakdown, we already told you about it in our blog.
Benefits of Setting up a Business in Dubai Auto Zone
Being a Free Zone, some of the greatest perks DAZ offers for the investors looking forward to company formation in Dubai Auto Zone include:
- 100% business ownership without any need for a local sponsor
- Zero corporate and personal tax
- Liberty to hire overseas employees with multiple visas under the single trade license
- Zero import/export duties
- No limitations on the number of automobiles you can import
- Instant access to the gigantic market of over 2 billion potential buyers in GCC, South Asia, and Africa
Facilities Available in Dubai Auto Zone
Some of the salient features and facilities offered by Dubai Auto Zone include:
- Office spaces
- Automotive warehouses
- Automotive showrooms
- Automotive workshops
Best Businesses to Start in Dubai Auto Zone
The most profitable businesses in the Dubai Auto Zone include:
- Vehicle trading
- Services related to the automotive sales
- Automotive-related banking, maintenance, insurance, and repairs
- Automobile import and export
Business Activities Allowed & Restricted in Dubai Auto Zone
The business activities allowed in Dubai Auto Zone are related to the automotive industry including trading (import/export of automobiles), insurance, maintenance, etc. But it is strictly prohibited to involve in the import or export of any sort of automobile spare parts in the Free Zone.
FAQs About Business Setup in Dubai Auto Zone
What is Dubai Auto Zone?
Do I Need to Have a Local Partner to Start My Company in Dubai Auto Zone?
You don’t need any local partner or sponsor for your business setup in Dubai Auto Zone as it comes under the jurisdiction of the Jabel Ali Free Zone Authority. Being a Free Zone, Dubai Auto Zone offers you 100% ownership of your business.
How Many Days Would It Take To Get My License for My Business in Dubai Auto Zone?
It takes around 2 to 4 weeks until you have your trade license to start your business activities in Dubai Auto Zone without any further prerequisites or procedures.
How Airzone Can Help You Set up a Business in Dubai Auto Zone?
You need assistance from local business formation services at each step of your Dubai Auto Zone company formation journey including:
- Getting your trade name approved
- Complete all the documents with attestation from the relevant authorities or boards
- Get your business registered
- Apply for the trade license
- Complete all the legal verifications, etc
To spare your time and efforts, Airzone offers a valuable knowledge base and a rich portfolio of business formation guides. Our business formation partners and consultancy providers help you set up a business in Dubai Auto Zone and other Free Zones as well as Mainland Jurisdictions in the UAE. Our partnered service providers have proven experience in serving a great number of clients linked with the automobile industry. Get in touch with Airzone now and leverage the privilege of having a dedicated entity in UAE that can arrange resourceful partners at each stage of your Dubai Auto Zone company formation drive.
We hope you found this guide useful. If you want to learn more about how to set up a business in Dubai, we suggest you read our step-by-step guide. We also have comprehensive articles on various free zones in UAE if you need more information regarding that.