Free Zone to Mainland Customs: UAE Steps for Moving Goods

Free zone to mainland customs means that goods leaving a UAE free zone for the local market are declared and cleared like an import, and duty is due when they exit the zone. The ICP page on the GCC Customs Union states that goods imported from free zones are subject to duty upon exit from those zones. If you hold stock in JAFZA or a Sharjah free zone and sell to mainland customers, you need a customs declaration for every release.

Do you pay customs duty when goods leave a free zone for the mainland?

Yes. Goods can sit in a free zone without duty, but they become dutiable when they enter the mainland.

The RAKEZ customs manual explains the legal basis. Under Articles 85 and 88 of the GCC Common Customs Law, goods leaving a free zone into the country are treated as foreign goods. They are subject to duty even if duty was paid earlier. The manual is from RAKEZ, but it quotes a GCC-wide law.

Two points follow:

• Storage is not the taxable event. Release is. Holding stock in JAFZA costs you no import duty. Selling a pallet to a mainland buyer does.
• It is a customs matter and a tax matter. Customs duty and VAT run on separate rules. Both can apply to the same release.

What rate applies?

Most goods are charged at the standard rate, commonly quoted as 5% of CIF value. Some goods, such as tobacco and alcohol, carry much higher rates. I could not confirm the rate from an official page for this post. The rate for your goods depends on the HS code, so confirm it with Dubai Customs or your customs broker. Also confirm that duty is calculated on the original CIF value, not on your resale price to the mainland buyer.

How does free zone to mainland customs clearance work, step by step?

For a normal sale of free zone stock to a mainland buyer, the flow looks like this in Dubai. Check each step with your broker, because details differ by free zone and by consignment.

1. Confirm your licence and the buyer. Make sure your free zone licence allows the sale, and agree with the buyer who acts as importer on the declaration.
2. Get a Dubai Customs registration. The declaring party needs one. A Dubai Trade notice gives AED 100 per business type plus the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee for new registrations.
3. Classify the goods. Set the HS code for each line. This decides the duty rate and any restrictions.
4. Collect the documents. Dubai Customs lists the invoice first on its Submit Customs Declaration page. That page also lists other documents, so read it for the full list. RAKEZ asks for the original invoice and original certificate of origin, but that is RAKEZ's own rule.
5. Submit the declaration. Choose "Import to Local from FZ". Mirsal 2 uses the code IM2 for it, according to the Dubai Trade notice. A registered importer or an authorised broker files it.
6. Pay duty and the declaration fee. Then wait for customs release.
7. Exit the zone. The goods leave through the free zone gate with the cleared declaration. Gate rules and gate fees vary by zone.
8. Handle VAT. The movement is an importation for VAT. More on this below.

Software can help with the paperwork around these steps. For example, Quickship's Customs Clearance module is software for UAE and KSA customs files. It does not clear goods. The declaration is still filed with Dubai Customs by a registered importer or licensed broker.

What does Dubai Customs charge for the declaration?

The declaration fee is small compared with duty, but it is charged on every declaration. The Dubai Customs Service Guide v9 (2025) lists a dutiable fee and a non-dutiable fee for each type. A AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee is added on service costs of AED 50 and above.

This is the 2025 version of the guide. Check the current edition before you quote these fees to a customer.

A worked example (hypothetical)

Say a trading company in JAFZA sells goods with a CIF value of AED 100,000 to a mainland buyer. Assume a 5% duty rate for the sake of the example. Duty would be AED 5,000. The declaration fee would be AED 70 for a dutiable Import to Local from FZ, plus AED 20, so AED 90. VAT is separate and follows the FTA guide. Your real figure depends on the HS code and the duty base, so treat this as a method, not a quote.

How does VAT apply to goods moving from a Designated Zone?

Moving goods from a Designated Zone into the mainland is an importation, and it triggers the obligation to pay import VAT. That comes from the FTA Designated Zones VAT Guide. The guide treats Designated Zones as outside the UAE for VAT, but only to the extent they meet fencing, controls and internal procedure requirements.

Other points from the guide:

• Goods moved from outside the UAE into a Designated Zone carry no UAE VAT.
• A move from the mainland into a Designated Zone is not an export. It is a local movement or supply.
• A transfer between two Designated Zones is outside VAT scope if the goods are not released into circulation, used or altered, and the transfer rules are followed.

The Dubai Trade notice adds that declaration data reaches the FTA for VAT or excise purposes. So your customs declaration and your VAT return should agree. I could not retrieve the guide's exact lines on reverse charge or recovery of import VAT, so read the guide or ask your tax adviser before you decide how to account for it.

What about Sharjah free zones such as SAIF Zone?

The customs principle is the same, because the GCC Customs Union rule applies across the UAE. Goods leaving a free zone are subject to duty on exit. I did not find an official Sharjah page that describes the free-zone-to-mainland procedure step by step. Do not assume the Dubai fees or steps apply.

For SAIF Zone, Sharjah Customs lists a SAIF Zone Customs Centre (Free Zone) at +971 6 5571323 and fza_customs@sharjahcustoms.gov.ae. Ask them which declaration type, fees, documents and gate process apply to your release.

Which similar movements need a different declaration?

Not every release from a free zone is a plain import to local. The Dubai Customs Customer Guide lists several related types.

• Import for Re Export to Local from FZ. Goods come to the mainland to be re-exported outside the GCC. Duties are secured by a standing bank guarantee or deposit. A registered local importer or authorised broker must submit it. If you cancel an Import declaration to issue a Re-export one, the Dubai Customs service page lists a AED 300 fine.
• Temporary Admission from FZ to Local. Goods come in on a standing guarantee or deposit equal to the payable duties.
• FZ Transit Out. For goods going out of the country. Free zones are tied to specific ports of export. Jebel Ali FZ is tied to Jebel Ali Port and Al Maktoum International Airport. Proof of export needs a copy of the FZ Transit-out declaration plus a signed and stamped Certificate of Exit/Entry.
• Goods consumed within the free zone. A separate declaration applies, effective 25 October 2020. Registration is AED 70 for dutiable and AED 80 for duty-exempt declarations, according to Dubai Trade.
• Moves to another GCC state. The guide describes a separate process for goods going from a Dubai free zone or customs warehouse to another GCC country.

What mistakes cost free zone sellers time and money?

• Treating a mainland sale like an internal transfer. A transfer within a free zone is a different declaration from a release to local.
• Releasing stock before the declaration is cleared. Clear first, then move the goods.
• Wrong HS code. It affects duty, and a mismatch between invoice and declaration slows clearance.
• Quoting a customer a price without duty and VAT. Add both before you agree the price.
• Copying fees from another free zone. The RAKEZ AED 70 registration and AED 20 gate pass are RAKEZ figures. They are not Dubai or Sharjah fees.
• Ignoring the VAT side. Customs data goes to the FTA, so keep your import VAT records matched to the declarations.

A short checklist before each release: licence checked, buyer and importer agreed, HS code set, invoice and origin documents ready, declaration type correct, duty and VAT budgeted, gate process confirmed.