Key Takeaways
- To sell on Amazon.ae as an owner, you'll be asked for a trade licence, a national ID such as the Emirates ID, proof of address and a bank account to receive your sales money (Amazon.ae seller pages, 2026).
- Noon only offers its Individual Seller type in Egypt. A UAE seller registers as a company whose valid licence includes a sales, trading or distribution activity.
- You can open a Noon account without VAT registration by choosing the Non-VAT option. Once taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000, registering for VAT is mandatory all the same.
- Register for VAT late and you owe VAT on every taxable supply made before registration, plus a penalty of AED 10,000 (Cabinet Decision 40 of 2017 as amended by Cabinet Decision 129 of 2025; check the FTA table).
- Each marketplace decides which licence types it accepts. Get that answer from seller support in writing before you pay for a licence.
An Amazon seller account in the UAE needs a licensed business behind it, and the kind of licence you hold affects how registration goes. Amazon.ae lists a trade licence among the documents an owner provides. Noon only registers UAE sellers as companies. Then there's VAT (value added tax), which adds a threshold at AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and imports, as of October 2026.
The licence options for an online seller
Most online sellers pick from the Dubai e-trader licence, a free zone company with an e-commerce activity, or a mainland company. The marketplaces don't treat these the same way, so start by finding out what each one accepts.
The e-trader licence is a home-based licence for people who sell goods or services through social media and online platforms. Dubai only issues it as a sole proprietorship, a business owned by one person (dubai.ae, April 2026). The holder is fully responsible for the business in law. Digital traders can only sell goods and services that are legally approved for trade in the UAE. Some online trading activities also need prior approval from the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). For who the licence suits and where it stops, see the e-trader licence guide.
A free zone is an area with its own authority that licenses companies under its own rules, and a company there can hold an e-commerce activity. RAKEZ, the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, lists an e-commerce licence among its licence types (RAKEZ website, October 2026). To work onshore elsewhere in the UAE, meaning outside the free zones, the company needs a branch or representative office where the zone's own rules allow it (Commercial Companies Law, Article 5(2), as amended by Federal Decree-Law 20 of 2025).
Selling to customers on the Dubai mainland needs its own permission. A Dubai free zone company has a choice of two options under Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025. One is a branch operating out of the zone, at AED 10,000 a year. The other is a temporary permit of up to six months at AED 5,000. Dubai markets that permit as the Free Zone Mainland Operating Permit, and you need a Dubai Unified Licence to get it. Both options cover Dubai only. The e-commerce licence guide compares all the set-ups in detail.
A mainland licence comes from the economic department of the emirate where your premises are. In Dubai that's the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the mainland licensing office formerly known as DED. For the licence, premises and banking side of a goods business, see the trading company guide.
What Amazon.ae and Noon ask for at registration
Selling on Amazon UAE follows a set order. You get the licence first, then open the seller account, then register for VAT when you reach the threshold. Amazon.ae asks for a business email or an Amazon customer account, a phone number where you can be reached, and proof of address from a bank, credit card or utility statement. As an owner you also supply the Commercial Registration (Amazon's term for your trade licence) and a national ID such as the Emirates ID. You name a bank account for the proceeds too (Amazon.ae seller pages, 2026).
Noon spells out which structures it takes. A Local Seller is a company registered in the country where it sells. An International Seller is registered somewhere else. The Individual Seller type is only open in Egypt. That means a UAE seller on Noon is a company, and its licence must be valid and include a sales, trading, manufacturing or distribution activity (Noon Seller Help Center, 2026).
Use the table to gather the right papers for each marketplace.
| What they ask for | Amazon.ae (seller pages, 2026) | Noon (Seller Help Center, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Business licence | Commercial Registration, called a trade licence in the beginner's guide, if you're the owner | A valid trade licence or commercial registration with a sales, trading, manufacturing or distribution and wholesale activity. UAE sellers register as companies |
| Identity | National ID such as the Emirates ID | Emirates ID (front and back) or passport |
| Bank | A bank account to receive the proceeds | Cancelled cheque, bank letter or bank statement. Personal accounts aren't accepted, and the bank name must match the legal registered name |
| Tax number | Check the live registration form to see what it asks | Tax Registration Number (TRN) and certificate dates if you're VAT-registered, or the Non-VAT option if you're not |
| Representative | Power of Attorney for a legal representative | Power of Attorney if the representative isn't the licence owner |
Noon also wants your licence to have a minimum period of validity left on the day you submit it. You'll find the figure on its help page. If your licence is close to expiry, renew it before you apply.
Only the marketplaces can answer two questions. Which licence types does Amazon.ae accept for your product category: mainland, free zone or e-trader? And does Noon treat a sole proprietorship licence, such as the e-trader licence, as a company? Put both to seller support before you spend money on any licence.
VAT registration and invoicing
You have to register for VAT once your taxable supplies and imports go above AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or when you expect them to in the next 30 days. From AED 187,500 you may register voluntarily (VAT Executive Regulation, Articles 7 and 8, consolidated September 2026).
Count sales from every channel. The threshold applies to everything you sell, so your marketplace store, your own website and direct orders all go into one total.
You have 30 days to apply from the point you're required to register (Article 7). If you don't, the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) registers you from the date you first became liable and applies the penalties in the Tax Procedures Law. You'll also have to account for VAT on all taxable supplies and imports made before registration. Penalties are set by Cabinet Decision 40 of 2017 as amended by Cabinet Decision 129 of 2025 (in force from 14 April 2026). In the Ministry of Finance's consolidated text, late registration costs AED 10,000 (Table 1, row 3). Confirm the amount in the FTA penalty table.
Once you're registered, you issue tax invoices to your customers. Agree the invoice format with your accountant before your first marketplace payout.
Noon's Non-VAT option lets an unregistered seller get through the sign-up form, and VAT-registered sellers give their TRN and certificate dates. The option only affects the form. It doesn't move the AED 375,000 threshold. An accounting firm can handle the registration for you, and the VAT registration guide walks through it step by step.
Holding stock, importing and customs
As soon as you hold stock, customs is involved. The rules come from the customs authority of the emirate where the goods arrive. Before your first order, check with that authority or your clearing agent (the firm that gets goods through customs for you) who is named as importer on the shipment, which tariff code applies to the product, and how returns are cleared.
Imported goods have their own VAT. Find out from your clearing agent how import VAT is worked out, paid and recovered before the first shipment arrives.
Amazon FBA UAE (Fulfilment by Amazon, where Amazon stores your stock and ships it to customers) relies on the same licence and import steps. Amazon.ae sets its inbound and fee terms in its own FBA pages. Read them, and check with seller support that your licence type qualifies before you send any stock.
Keeping stock in a free zone warehouse doesn't make it VAT-free on its own. For VAT on goods, a zone can only be treated as outside the UAE if it's on the FTA's Designated Zones list and meets the conditions in Article 51 of the VAT Executive Regulation. Corporate Tax has its own rules for Designated Zones, so a zone's VAT status doesn't settle its Corporate Tax position.
Then there are product approvals. Cosmetics, supplements, electronics and food need checking with the product's regulator, and e-trade with TDRA. Having e-commerce on your licence doesn't clear the product itself. Find out from each marketplace which categories it restricts and what proof it wants before you order stock.
Payments and the bank account
Your marketplace payouts need a bank account in the right name. Noon accepts a cancelled cheque, a bank letter or a bank statement. It won't take personal bank account details, and the bank name must match the legal registered name. Amazon.ae asks for a bank account for proceeds (marketplace help pages, 2026).
When a new company applies for an account, the bank reviews it against the Central Bank's customer due diligence guidance, which sets out how banks check who a customer is. The rulebook lists it as in force from 7 November 2025 (check the rulebook for the April 2026 update). Banks must verify the customer and the beneficial owner, the real person who owns or controls the company. The guidance says banks shouldn't open or keep a relationship when due diligence can't be completed. Red flags include opaque ownership, an unclear source of funds and nominee shareholders, people who hold shares on someone else's behalf.
A payment gateway for your own web shop is a decision of its own. Stripe's published UAE pricing is 2.9% plus AED 1.00 for each successful domestic card payment. International cards add 1%, currency conversion adds 1%, and each dispute received costs AED 60. There's no setup fee or monthly fee (Stripe, as of October 2026). Other gateways have their own rules on who can sign up. Check with each one whether it accepts an e-trader, free zone or mainland licence, and whether its application is handled apart from your bank account.
From dropshipping to wholesale, when to change the structure
A set-up that's fine for testing a dropshipping idea (selling goods that a supplier ships straight to your customer) may not suit a wholesale contract. The question tends to come up at three moments: your first wholesale or retailer order, the first stock you hold in the UAE, and your first employee.
The e-trader licence is a sole proprietorship, so the owner's liability is unlimited (dubai.ae, April 2026). Put simply, your personal assets can be used to pay business debts. A wholesale buyer may prefer to deal with a company that has limited liability and its own trade licence. If you're planning to hire, ask DET first whether the e-trader licence allows staff and visas.
Moving to a company means starting over with the licence, the lease and the bank application, because a company is a separate legal person from the sole proprietor. The new company registers for Corporate Tax within three months of incorporation (FTA Decision 3 of 2024). Registering late costs AED 10,000 (Cabinet Decision 75 of 2023 as amended).
Corporate Tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% on income above that (Cabinet Decision 116 of 2022). A free zone company only gets the 0% rate if it's a Qualifying Free Zone Person, one that meets the conditions for that rate, and then only on qualifying income (Cabinet Decision 100 of 2023, Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025). That Ministerial Decision lists transactions with natural persons, meaning individual consumers, among its Excluded Activities. There are exceptions, such as ships and aircraft. Talk to a tax adviser before you assume your consumer sales qualify for 0%.
Costs to expect
There's no set price for an online seller. It depends on the licence option, the activity and your premises. The table lists the published fees as of October 2026 and what kind of charge each one is.
| Fee | Amount | Type of charge | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card processing on your own web shop | 2.9% + AED 1.00 per domestic card payment; +1% international cards; +1% currency conversion; AED 60 per dispute received | Published standard pricing | Stripe UAE pricing page, as of October 2026 |
| Branch operating out of a free zone, Dubai | AED 10,000 a year | Fee set in the Resolution | Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025, Article 12 |
| Six-month permit for a Dubai free zone company | AED 5,000 to issue or renew | Fee set in the Resolution | Same Resolution, Article 12 |
| Late VAT registration | AED 10,000 | Penalty | Cabinet Decision 40 of 2017 as amended by Cabinet Decision 129 of 2025, Table 1, row 3; confirm in the FTA table |
| Late Corporate Tax registration | AED 10,000 | Penalty | Cabinet Decision 75 of 2023 as amended |
| E-trader licence, free zone package or mainland licence | Ask for an itemised quote | Set by DET or the zone | DET service page or the zone's fee sheet |
Free zone licences are sold as packages, and each zone sets its own prices. Get the zone's fee sheet for the e-commerce activity, along with the renewal price. Amazon.ae and Noon publish seller fee pages for referral and fulfilment charges, which cover the commission on each sale and the cost of storing and shipping. Read them before you price any product. The business ideas guide shows which licence other online activities need.
AdvisoryHub may receive a fee when you request an introduction; it does not affect the information on this page.
More Company Setup Guides
Related Company Setup Guides
- E commerce license Dubai, three routes for an online seller
- E-trader license in Dubai, who it is for and its limits
- Trading company in Dubai, licence, zone and bank view
- VAT registration UAE for a new company, threshold and process
- Business ideas in Dubai and the licence each one needs
- Startup company in Dubai, structure, licence and visas
- Company for sale in Dubai, a due diligence checklist
- Holding company in Dubai, SPV, foundation and family office
- Accounting firms in the UAE
