Record-keeping rarely feels urgent until someone asks for a document you no longer have. In the UAE, several different laws set out what records a business must keep and for how long, and the periods are not all the same.
This is a practical summary of the main requirements.
The main retention periods
| Area | What to keep | Minimum period |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate Tax | Records and documents supporting your tax return and taxable income | 7 years after the end of the tax period |
| VAT | Accounting records, tax invoices, credit notes, import and export documents | 5 years after the end of the tax period |
| VAT on real estate | Records relating to real estate | 15 years |
| Company law | Accounting books and records | 5 years after the end of the financial year |
| AML | Customer due diligence and transaction records (for businesses with AML obligations) | 5 years |
In practice, because Corporate Tax sets the longest general period, many businesses simply keep all financial records for at least seven years. Where a tax audit, dispute or investigation is open, records should be kept until it is resolved, even if the normal period has passed.
What counts as a record
Records are not just the final accounts. They include:
- the general ledger and supporting books of account;
- sales and purchase invoices, receipts and credit notes;
- bank statements and reconciliations;
- contracts, leases and loan agreements;
- payroll records and WPS files;
- fixed asset registers and inventory records;
- customs and shipping documents; and
- working papers that support tax returns and calculations.
Paper or electronic?
Records can generally be kept electronically, provided they are complete, readable and can be produced promptly when requested. If you are moving from paper to digital, make sure scans are legible and that you can retrieve documents by period, supplier or customer without difficulty.
Records should also be available in the UAE or accessible from it, and documents in other languages may need to be translated into Arabic if requested by the authorities.
Common problems
- Records held only in a former employee’s email or on a personal device.
- Accounting systems switched off after a migration, leaving historic data inaccessible.
- Supplier invoices missing required details, which can put input tax claims at risk.
- No clear retention policy, so records are either kept indefinitely or discarded too early.
Practical steps
Set a simple retention policy that covers the longest period that applies to you, keep records in a structured central location, and check that old systems can still be accessed. When you migrate software, export and archive the historic data before the old system is closed.
If you would like help putting your records in order, or reconstructing records that have gone missing, please get in touch.
This article is general information based on the rules as we understand them at the date of publication. It is not advice on your circumstances. Laws and practice change, so please speak to us before acting on it.
