COMPANY LIQUIDATION SERVICES

Steps to Liquidate a Company in Dubai

Here’s how the process works:

1. Prepare a resolution to close the company
2. Appoint a licensed liquidator
3. Get a letter from the liquidator accepting the role
4. Notarize the resolution (for mainland companies)
5. Submit documents to the government authority (DED or Free Zone)
6. Publish a 45-day newspaper notice
7. Get clearances from:
   • Immigration
   • Labor Department
   • Customs
   • DEWA (electricity & water)
   • Telecom provider (Etisalat/DU)
   • FTA (for VAT/tax)
   • Landlord
8. Close the company’s bank account
9. Submit the final liquidation report
10. Pay final government fees
11. Receive the cancellation certificate from the authority

If the shareholders are not physically present in the UAE, the resolution or Power of Attorney must go through specific authentication steps. First, it must be notarized and attested by the UAE Embassy in the country where the shareholders are located. After that, it must be legalized by both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice in the UAE.

However, for companies registered in most Free Zones, attestation from a Notary Public is generally not required.

Importantly, the resolution should include the appointment of the company’s liquidator. It must state the name of the liquidator clearly and provide their complete address.

In contrast, if the business being liquidated is a sole establishment, this requirement does not apply.

Documents Required Initially for Company Liquidation in the UAE

• License Copy
• Memorandum of Association Copy with all the changes
• Power of Attorney, if any
• Shareholders Resolution
• Shareholders Passport Copy
• Emirates ID Copy
• Deregistration Application Form
• VAT & Corporate Tax filing and deregistration

Notice Period for Liquidation of a company in the UAE

Once the above-mentioned documents are submitted and the initial payment is also done to the concerned Authority (Department of Economic Development), a liquidation certificate (primary) will be issued. The liquidation certificate is issued as a piece of documentary evidence from the Authority for the company to proceed with the winding up of a company in the UAE.

Once the liquidation certificate (primary) is obtained the company can proceed with the advertisement that is supposed to publish in the newspaper.

In the case of Limited Liability Companies and some of the Free zone companies such as Dubai Creative Cluster Authority, etc require forty-five (45) days’ notice of liquidation advertisement in the public newspaper. In the case of LLC companies, four advertisements are to be published in the Arabic language.

Actions to be taken during the Notice Period of Liquidation of a Company

• Clearance from the Immigration Department
• Clearance from the Labour Department
• Clearance letter from Electricity and Water Departments
• Clearance letter from Telecom Authority (DU or Etisalat, etc)
• Clearance letter from Landlord
• Bank account closure letter

Final Step for Company Liquidation

Once the notice period is over, the following documents must be submitted along with the previously mentioned ones:

• Company Liquidation Report
• Copy of Newspaper Advertisement

After submitting these documents, the authority will conduct a review. Upon approval, the final payment must be made to the respective authority. Following this, the License Cancellation Certificate will be issued by the concerned authority, officially completing the company liquidation process.