UAQ Free Trade Zone Auditors
We are Approved Auditors by UAQ Free Trade Zone.
Audit and Financial Statement Services for UAQ Free Trade Zone Companies
Farahat & Co. supports companies registered in the Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone (UAQ FTZ) with audit and financial statement services.
Established in 1987 as the Ahmed Bin Rashid Port and Free Zone, UAQ FTZ is one of the UAE’s most cost-effective free zones, used by trading, consultancy, e-commerce, industrial and freelance businesses.
Unlike free zones with a formal annual audit submission portal, UAQ FTZ does not require companies to submit audited financial statements to the authority, though proper accounting records and, in many cases, an auditor’s report remain necessary for banking, shareholder, and UAE Corporate Tax purposes.
Services We Offer as UAQ Free Trade Zone Approved Auditors in UAE
As approved auditors for the UAQ Free Trade Zone, we deliver reliable audit and financial services for businesses in Umm Al Quwain’s thriving free trade zone. Our dedicated team keeps your company compliant and financially well-managed.
UAQ FTZ Audit Requirements: What Actually Applies
No mandatory authority submission
UAQ FTZ does not require companies to submit audited financial statements to the free zone authority as a condition of licence renewal, which sets it apart from free zones such as DMCC, JAFZA or RAKEZ. This makes UAQ FTZ attractive to smaller businesses and freelancers looking to minimise formal compliance overhead, but it does not remove the underlying need for proper accounting.
Internal reporting and AGM requirement
Company directors are still expected to prepare financial statements, including an auditor’s report, and circulate them to shareholders within four months of the financial year-end for the annual general meeting. This is a shareholder-facing obligation rather than a filing submitted to the authority, but it means most UAQ FTZ companies with more than one shareholder should still expect to prepare audited or reviewed financial statements annually.
Corporate Tax and Qualifying Free Zone Person requirements
Separately from UAQ FTZ’s own rules, federal UAE Corporate Tax Law requires audited financial statements from any taxable person with revenue exceeding AED 50 million in a tax period, and from any Qualifying Free Zone Person seeking the 0% corporate tax rate on qualifying income, regardless of revenue. This federal requirement applies to UAQ FTZ companies exactly as it does everywhere else in the UAE, so a company should not treat UAQ FTZ’s lack of a portal-based submission as a reason to skip audit preparation altogether.
Audit Process, Documents and Licence-Type Considerations
Audit process
- Understand the business — review the licence activity, ownership structure and the purpose of the audit report.
- Review accounting records — trial balance, general ledger, bank records, invoices and contracts.
- Match bank movement with business activity — confirm receipts, payments and owner contributions are properly explained.
- Check activity-specific risk areas relevant to the company’s licence type.
- Finalise financial statements and issue the audit report for the required purpose — banking, tax, shareholder reporting or authority review.
Licence-type considerations
Audit focus should match the company’s actual licence type rather than following a single generic checklist.
- Trading companies: sales invoices, supplier bills, inventory, import/export documents and cost of goods sold are the main areas of review.
- Service and consultancy companies: signed contracts, project billing, retainer income and subcontractor payments need clear supporting records.
- E-commerce businesses: marketplace statements, payment gateway reports, shipping costs, refunds and platform fees should reconcile with bank settlements.
- Industrial licence companies: raw materials, production costs, fixed assets and finished goods require careful cost classification to avoid margin and inventory valuation errors.
- Freelance permit holders: simpler records are typical, but invoices, bank statements and expense documents still matter for tax filing, banking and visa renewal.
Documents required
Valid UAQ FTZ trade licence, certificate of incorporation, Memorandum and Articles of Association where applicable, shareholder and manager details, trial balance and general ledger, profit and loss statement and balance sheet, bank statements and reconciliations, sales invoices and customer contracts, purchase invoices and supplier statements, import, export and shipping documents where applicable, inventory records where applicable, marketplace and payment gateway reports where applicable, fixed asset register where applicable, payroll records, VAT returns and TRN certificate where applicable, and corporate tax registration details where applicable.
Why Choose Farahat & Co. as Your UAQ FTZ Auditor
Farahat & Co. supports UAQ FTZ companies across trading, service, e-commerce, industrial and freelance activities with audit and financial statement services. Because UAQ FTZ doesn’t require a standard authority submission, we help each client identify the actual reason an audit is needed, whether that’s a bank requirement, a shareholder AGM obligation, an investor request, or Corporate Tax and Qualifying Free Zone Person compliance, and scope the audit accordingly rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
Beyond UAQ FTZ, Farahat & Co. holds approvals across more than 20 UAE free zones, including DMCC, JAFZA and DIFC, giving businesses that operate across multiple jurisdictions a single audit partner. We also help UAQ FTZ companies avoid a common misconception: that no formal audit portal means no audit is ever needed, when banking, shareholder and tax obligations frequently require one regardless.
About UAQ FTZ: Free Zone Profile
Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone was established in 1987 as the Ahmed Bin Rashid Port and Free Zone, making it one of the UAE’s longer-standing free zones. Located roughly 30 minutes from Dubai International Airport and directly connected to Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, UAQ FTZ sits beside a Hutchison Ports-operated facility, giving trading, logistics and manufacturing businesses direct port access. The zone supports more than 1,500 permitted business activities across trading, consultancy, industrial, e-commerce and freelance categories, with a minimum share capital requirement of AED 300,000 for standard company formations.
In 2024, UAQ FTZ launched its Vision 2033 roadmap, focused on logistics, manufacturing, tourism, healthcare and renewable energy, alongside plans for a dedicated Logistics City and a cargo airport. The zone’s dual licensing feature, allowing two business activity categories under a single entity, is uncommon among UAE free zones and adds to its appeal for businesses with mixed activity models.