The e-commerce licence in Dubai: selling online, done right

Which licence do you actually need?

Any commercial licence with e-commerce or online trading activities covers selling through your own store, marketplaces and social channels. Free zone licences from Meydan, IFZA or DUQE handle this from around AED 12,500 and suit sellers shipping from abroad or through third-party fulfilment.

Selling on Amazon.ae or Noon works with a free zone licence via their FBA-style programmes, though holding local inventory for direct mainland fulfilment at scale pushes toward CommerCity's bonded infrastructure or a mainland licence.

Payment gateways: the approval nobody budgets time for

Stripe, Telr, Tap and the bank-owned gateways all onboard UAE companies, and each wants the licence, a working website with terms and refund policy, and a corporate bank account. Sequence matters: licence, then bank account, then gateway, with the website live before you apply. Allow two to three weeks after banking for gateway approval.

Customs and VAT for cross-border sellers

• Stock held in a free zone ships internationally without UAE duty; duty applies when orders enter the UAE market
• 5% customs duty on most goods crossing onshore, with the invoice value driving the calculation
• UAE-delivered orders count toward the AED 375,000 VAT registration threshold
• Exports are typically zero-rated for VAT, so registered sellers reclaim input VAT on costs

The stack we set up most often

1. Meydan or IFZA licence with e-commerce plus trading activities
2. Wio Business account for fast onboarding and low balance requirements
3. Stripe or Telr on the storefront
4. Third-party fulfilment until volume justifies dedicated space
5. VAT registration timed to the threshold, corporate tax registered from day one