9
Articles
1
Chapters
FTA
Issuing authority
AI
Cited answers from article text
Cabinet Decision No. (59) of 2017 on Designated Zones as amended by Cabinet Decision No. (35) of 2018, with FTA VAT Guide VATG DZ1 is one of the rulebooks issued by the Federal Tax Authority. For compliance officers, legal teams, and advisors working under this regime, finding the right article quickly matters. Lexara indexes the full text of VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended) and makes it searchable two ways: full-text and keyword search for rapid lookup, and AI Explorer for natural-language questions answered with citations to the exact article.
9 articles in 1 chapters, each with a plain-English summary by Arakan. The full text of every article is in the Laws Browser.
Cabinet Decision 59/2017 Annex as amended by Cabinet Decision 35/2018Zone list
Only specified free zones listed in the Cabinet Decision qualify as Designated Zones for VAT purposes; others are considered part of the UAE.
Executive Regulations Art 51(1)-(2) (via Guide section 2.2)Qualifying conditions
Designated zones must maintain strict security and customs controls to be treated as outside VAT.
Executive Regulations Art 51(4) (via Guide section 3.4.3)Transfers between zones
Transfers of goods between VAT Designated Zones are outside VAT scope if conditions are met, and a financial guarantee may be required.
Executive Regulations Art 51(4),(8) (via Guide section 3.6)Deemed import
Goods unsold in a Designated Zone are deemed imported when consumed or unaccounted for; owners must monitor and pay VAT accordingly.
Executive Regulations Art 51(5) (via Guide section 3.3)Supplies of goods within a zone
Suppliers in Designated Zones must ensure goods are not consumed to avoid UAE VAT; buyers generally need to provide a written statement.
Executive Regulations Art 51(6) (via Guide section 3.2)Supplies of services
Services in a Designated Zone are subject to UAE VAT rules, with the possibility of zero-rating for exported services.
Executive Regulations Art 51(7), Art 21 (via Guide section 4)Water, energy and real estate
Water and energy consumed in Designated Zones are taxed in the UAE, while real estate sales are exempt from VAT but related services are taxable.
Executive Regulations Art 51(9) (via Guide section 2.3-2.4)Entities in Designated Zones
Businesses in Designated Zones must register for VAT, report, and account under normal rules, despite some goods being outside scope.
Via Guide section 3.5Imports from a zone to the mainland
Importers must pay VAT on goods moved from Designated Zones to the mainland, with registered importers able to recover VAT if conditions are met.
VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended)'s 9 indexed articles break down by obligation type as follows.
Tax / Finance — 9 articles
VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended) spans the following regulatory topics, as tagged by Lexara.
fta
vat
designated zones
free zone
customs
tax
Instead of reading through VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended) article by article, Lexara's AI Explorer lets you ask a question in plain English and get a cited answer — with the specific article referenced.
Ask in plain English — no need to know the article number in advance
Every answer cites the specific article it draws from, with a direct link
Responses include the relevant article text, not just a paraphrase
Cross-reference VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended) against other Federal Tax Authority rulebooks in a single query
How Lexara works
Laws Browser
Browse the full article corpus for any UAE authority. Filter by law, chapter, or topic tag.
Full-text search
Keyword and semantic search across 7,000+ indexed articles from 20+ UAE regulators.
AI Explorer
Ask a regulatory question in plain English. Get a cited answer grounded in the actual statutory text.
Trigger layer
Structured deadline data per article — event type, offset, recurrence. No manual calendar parsing.
What is Cabinet Decision No. (59) of 2017 on Designated Zones as amended by Cabinet Decision No. (35) of 2018, with FTA VAT Guide VATG DZ1?
Cabinet Decision No. (59) of 2017 on Designated Zones as amended by Cabinet Decision No. (35) of 2018, with FTA VAT Guide VATG DZ1 is issued by the Federal Tax Authority. It has 9 articles across 1 chapters.
What does VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended) cover?
It is organised into: VAT - Designated Zones.
Who issues VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended)?
The Federal Tax Authority. Always check the authority's official publication for the binding text.
Can I search VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended) and ask questions about it?
Yes. Lexara searches the full text of all 9 articles and answers plain-English questions with a citation to the exact article.
Leave your details and a compliance adviser who works with VAT Designated Zones (CD 59/2017 as amended) will call you back. There's no charge to ask.
Arakan Lexara Weekly
Key developments and what they mean, what firms are asked to do, and the deadlines coming up — from the DFSA, FSRA, VARA, CBUAE, FTA and more. Read the latest