Understand the policies, laws and regulations shaping business across China and the UAE.
Business registration · Investment · Taxation · Customs · Trade · Financial regulation · Employment · Visas · Free-zone policies. Every update identifies the issuing authority, jurisdiction, publication date, effective date and official source.
Tax advisory firm Exiloz published an analysis detailing the operational impacts of FTA Public Clarification VATP044 on cross-border transactions. The guidance defines how the reverse charge mechanism applies to imported services from foreign vendors via a three-part test. Businesses must record output tax in Box 3 and recoverable input tax in Box 10 of their VAT returns.
The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has overhauled the application process for 13 work permit types under the Zero Bureaucracy initiative. Mandatory supporting document submissions have been eliminated, and data input fields were cut by 75 to 97 percent.
In a book excerpt published by The Wire China, former US government officials Ben Buchanan and Tantum Collins detailed how Washington drafted the 'diffusion rule' to oversee advanced AI chip exports. The framework was created to manage semiconductor sales to Middle Eastern nations including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The policy aimed to balance diplomatic ties with key regional partners while restricting potential leakage of US AI technologies to China.
New executive regulations under Federal Law No. 14 of 2024 will require UAE rental car companies to install tracking devices connected to a unified electronic system starting January 1, 2027. Operators must secure annual renewable permits, hold valid commercial licenses, and issue only standardized electronic contracts.
UAE Licensing and Traffic Authorities
United Arab Emirates
Effective January 1, 2027
Final rule
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