Table of Contents
- What Is an FTA Reconsideration Request?
- Which Corporate Tax Decisions Can Be Challenged?
- The 40-Business-Day Filing Period
- Can the Reconsideration Deadline Be Extended?
- Who Can Submit A Reconsideration Request?
- Evidence and Grounds that are Required to Submit A Reconsideration Request
- Tax Assessment Review or Reconsideration?
- What Happens After Submission of A Reconsideration Request?
- What If the Request Is Rejected?
- How HHS Lawyers Can Assist
When the Federal Tax Authority in the UAE starts to issue a Corporate Tax decision against a company that it believes is wrong, filing a general complaint or even sending an informal explanation to the FTA achieves nothing.
The law provides a specific mechanism that is actually available for being able to challenge many official decisions —a reconsideration request. Under normal circumstances, this request comes with a strict deadline that does not pause for internal approvals, delayed escalation, or adviser availability.
What is important with a reconsideration request is the ability to get the process right from the very first submission. If there is a poorly prepared request, a missed deadline, or a procedurally incorrect filing, it can close the door on a legitimate challenge entirely.
Businesses that are currently facing an active penalty or assessment can seek professional guidance from experienced tax dispute lawyers in the UAE before the deadline expires.
What Is an FTA Reconsideration Request?
A reconsideration request is a formal application that asks the FTA to review an official decision it has already issued.
Under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on Corporate Tax and the procedures that have been established under Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures a taxable person has the right to formally dispute a decision that affects their tax position. This procedure comes with a clause —provided the challenge is directed at an actual official determination, not a general response, inquiry reply, or clarification.
If a company discovers that it made an error in its own filed return, reconsideration is no longer the correct route to follow at that point. That situation simply calls for a correction or voluntary disclosure. Reconsideration only applies in an instance where the FTA itself has issued a decision that the company believes is factually or legally wrong.
The distinction is explained in our guide on Corporate Tax return errors and voluntary disclosure.
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Which Corporate Tax Decisions Can Be Challenged?
Reconsideration is appropriate where a company is about to try disputing:
- A Corporate Tax registration penalty
- A late filing or late payment penalty
- A penalty that is linked to an incorrect return or voluntary disclosure
- A tax assessment that was issued following an FTA audit
- The denial of a deduction, relief, exemption, or tax loss
- A decision that affects Free Zone qualification or Tax Group treatment
What does not qualify as valid grounds:
Any sort of financial hardship and requests for leniency that sit outside the scope of reconsideration entirely. Those kinds of requests belong in separate penalty waiver or installment applications. A reconsideration request must demonstrate that the decision of the FTA is wrong under the law, not that paying the penalty is difficult.
The 40-Business-Day Filing Period
Under Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022, a reconsideration request must be submitted within 40 business days from the date that the company was notified of the FTA decision. The exact date of the notification itself is excluded from the count. Where the final day falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline completely shifts to the next working day.
Such a company that is affected should retain clear evidence of when the decision was received. The statutory clock runs from notification, not from when the matter was even escalated internally, not from when an adviser was first consulted. If there are also any sort of internal delays, they do not pause it.
Because reconsideration, assessment review, TDRC objection, and court challenge each carry their own separate deadlines. What is important here is to maintain a written timeline from the exact moment a decision from the FTA arrives, as it is not optional. It is the foundation that the entire dispute process is built on.
Our overview of tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the UAE explains how reconsideration fits within the wider process.
Can the Reconsideration Deadline Be Extended?
Missing the 40-business-day window does not automatically put an end to the matter. A separate extension request can be submitted, but in order to get approval, it is not exactly guaranteed, and the bar to even obtain one is specific.
FTA Decision No. 1 of 2025 sets out the circumstances that may support an extension:
- A serious illness or accident that affects the authorised signatory
- The death of the authorised signatory, legal representative, or certain family members who are close
- A temporary business disruption that is outside the control of the company
- Damage to records that is caused by a disaster
- A general malfunction in the systems of the FTA
- Sudden disruption that has been caused by installing a new computer system
- An inability to obtain additional documents that are being requested by the FTA within the deadline
- Force majeure circumstances that are accepted at the discretion of the FTA
The FTA will not accept an extension based on lack of awareness, negligence by a Tax Agent or legal representative, the complexity of the dispute, or the applicant being occupied with running the business. If there must be a request, it must be built on documented evidence, and not explanation alone.
Who Can Submit A Reconsideration Request?
A reconsideration request that is considered valid can be submitted by:
- The taxable person directly
- An appointed registered Tax Agent.
- A legal representative
- The representative member, where the applicant is a Tax Group
A tax adviser without a registered Tax Agent status cannot file on behalf of another person. This is not a procedural technicality; instead, it is a condition that determines whether the submission is accepted at all. Being able to confirm the filing status of the party before submission prevents a straightforward procedural rejection.
Note:
All submissions are made through EmaraTax by opening the relevant Taxable Person profile. Then, proceed to select Other Services, navigate to Reconsiderations, and choose New Request.
Evidence and Grounds that are Required to Submit A Reconsideration Request
Whether a reconsideration request will succeed or fail tends to depenon the quality of its supporting evidence and the coherence of its legal arguments. The file should connect each disputed finding directly to the evidence that contradicts it.
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| Transaction and position-specific records: |
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| Procedural and legal submissions: |
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The arguments that are to be presented must remain consistent with the positions that have already been taken in the return, the accounting records, and any earlier submissions. A request that introduces unexplained figures or contradicts evidence already provided during an FTA audit signals inconsistency and weakens the entire case before the reviewer has finished reading it.
See our guide to tax dispute management and penalty avoidance.
Tax Assessment Review or Reconsideration?
Where the dispute begins to involve a tax assessment specifically, the company may have the option of requesting a tax assessment review before even proceeding to reconsideration.
This route is best for situations where the assessment allegedly contains:
- A calculation error,
- A procedural defect,
- An incorrect application of the law that has been based on evidence already provided during the audit.
The two processes cannot run simultaneously. A reconsideration request for the same assessment cannot be filed while there is an assessment review that is still pending. It can only be submitted after the FTA issues its review decision or the applicable decision period expires.
In an instance where the company may need to introduce new evidence that was not available during the audit, reconsideration is likely the more appropriate route from the outset. The assessment review process, on the other hand, is built around what the FTA already had in front of it, not what has emerged since.
What Happens After Submission of A Reconsideration Request?
Once a completed reconsideration request has been submitted, the FTA reviews the application and issues a reasoned written decision. Current FTA service information indicates that the Authority may take up to 40 business days to respond, with the possibility of extension.
The company that has been affected should monitor EmaraTax and any registered contact details actively during this period. Typically, the FTA may issue information requests before it even issues its final decision, and a slow response to those requests can affect the outcome in ways that are difficult to recover from later.
The same distinction between an official decision and a general inquiry also applies in the VAT reconsideration process.
What If the Request Is Rejected?
A rejected reconsideration does not exactly put an end to the dispute.
The next step is to file an objection with the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee that has been established under Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures, within 40 business days of being notified of the reconsideration decision. This new objection is filed through the Ministry of Justice Tax Dispute System.
But there are about three conditions that can result in the objection being rejected without consideration:
- Reconsideration was not submitted before the objection.
- The full amount of tax subject to the objection has not been paid.
- The objection was filed late without an accepted extension.
After the objection is filed:
- The TDRC generally decides within 20 business days and notifies the parties within five business days, subject to permitted extensions.
- Where the total disputed tax and administrative penalties do not exceed AED 100,000, the decision of the Committee is final.
- In higher-value disputes, a court challenge must generally be filed within 40 business days from notification of the decision of the Committee.
Every stage of this escalation path depends on what was filed and how it was even argued at the stage before. A weak or incomplete reconsideration submission does not just affect the reconsideration outcome; it actually shapes what is even available to argue at the TDRC and beyond.
Our article on tax controversy and dispute resolution in the UAE explains how matters that are complex can progress beyond the initial FTA stage.
Need Tax Dispute Help?
Dubai's Expert Advice at Your Fingertips.
How HHS Lawyers Can Assist
HHS Lawyers work with companies that are facing Corporate Tax penalties and FTA decisions across every stage of the dispute process. We help with reconsideration requests, applications for deadline extension, objections to TDRC, and representation in eligible court proceedings.
Seeking advice immediately after an FTA decision arrives gives the best chance of a properly structured response. The deadline can be calculated before it even starts to become a pressure point. Evidence can be identified and preserved while it is still complete, and the procedural approach can be determined before options start closing.
Companies that require formal representation can consult our Corporate Tax penalty dispute lawyers.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. The appropriate procedure depends on the specific FTA decision, the notification date, the tax payment position, and the evidence available.
