Penalties & Disputes
Reconsideration for Foreign Branches: After refusal
Reconsideration requests for foreign branches: what this segment does when reconsideration is refused. 40 business days, emaratax filing, grounds and evidence
reconsideration foreign branch uae
Foreign Branches file FTA reconsideration requests the same way as everyone else — in EmaraTax within 40 business days of notification, with reasons specified under Article 29 — but the branch's records live partly abroad, so every information request becomes a cross-border exercise against a 40-day clock. This guide covers after refusal for foreign branches: what this segment does when reconsideration is refused.
Basis: Federal Tax Authority, as published by the Ministry of Finance
- Objection deadline
- 40 business days from the refusal
- Article 32, to the TDRC
- TDRC decision
- Within 20 business days
- Final if tax plus penalties do not exceed AED 100,000
- Next stage above AED 100,000
- Court within 40 business days
- Article 36
# Reconsideration for Foreign Branches: After refusal
Branches of foreign companies dispute differently because their evidence lives in two countries: the branch's UAE books and the head office's records, often in another language and another accounting system. Information requests that a local company answers in days take a branch weeks — and the clocks do not adjust.
A refused reconsideration is not the end — it is the ticket to the TDRC. Read the refusal first: the FTA must state its reasons, and those reasons tell you exactly what the objection must answer. For foreign branches, the branch's records live partly abroad, so every information request becomes a cross-border exercise against a 40-day clock.
# Building the case
You have 40 business days from notification of the refusal to object under Article 32. Two conditions are hard: a prior reconsideration request must be on record, and the connected tax must be paid in full — the tax, not the penalties. The Committee decides within 20 business days (notified within 5), and its decision is final where tax plus penalties do not exceed AED 100,000.
Restructure the file for the new forum: drop the grounds the refusal defeated, lead with the one it engaged with least, and add anything genuinely new.
# Timeline and next steps
If the Committee upholds the decision and the total exceeds AED 100,000, the competent court is next within 40 business days under Article 36. If the deadline is close or the amount is large, get help before you file. Call +971 58 541 4616, message us on WhatsApp at https://wa.me/971585414616, email info@taxadvisors.ae, or use the contact form at /contact/.
| Stage | Your deadline | Authority deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Tax assessment review (Article 28) | 40 business days from notification of the assessment | FTA decides in 40 business days, notifies in 5 |
| Reconsideration (Article 29) | 40 business days from notification of the decision | FTA decides in 40 business days, notifies in 5 |
| TDRC objection (Article 32) | 40 business days from notification of the reconsideration decision; tax must be paid in full | Committee decides in 20 business days, notifies in 5 |
| Court appeal (Article 36) | 40 business days from notification of the Committee decision; 50% of penalties secured | Court timetable applies |
# From refusal to objection: the Foreign Branches transition plan
The 40 business days from the refusal's notification are short. For foreign branches, run this transition: Execute the transition week by week and the objection practically files itself: week one locks the deadline and starts the payment, weeks two to four rebuild the grounds around the refusal, weeks five to six file with margin. The businesses that lose at the TDRC stage usually lost in the transition — dithering over the refusal, discovering the payment condition late, or recycling defeated grounds. Do not be one of them.
Week 1: read, diary, pay
Read the refusal's stated reasons and extract what the Committee must hear. Diary the 40-business-day objection deadline from the notification date (screenshot it). Start the tax payment process immediately — Article 32(2)(b) needs the connected tax paid in full, and transfers take time. For foreign branches, the branch's records live partly abroad, so every information request becomes a cross-border exercise against a 40-day clock.
Weeks 2-4: rebuild the file
Restructure the grounds around the refusal: answer its reasoning point by point, drop defeated grounds, lead with the strongest survivor. Tighten the bundle — the Committee is a fresh forum and should not wade through reconsideration leftovers. Give the reviewer a retrieval plan with dates: what is requested, where it lives, when it arrives. A branch that manages the timetable looks cooperative; one that goes silent looks obstructive — and obstruction carries its own AED 20,000 penalty. Add anything genuinely new; committees give real weight to evidence the FTA never saw.
Weeks 5-6: file with margin
File the objection with the payment proof attached, keeping at least a week of margin. Verify the submission succeeded and keep the reference. Confirm the payment has allocated to the right assessment — an objection filed with an unallocated payment is an admissibility risk.
Prepare for the decision
The Committee decides within 20 business days (notified in 5), extendable by 60. Use the wait to prepare both outcomes: implementation steps if the objection succeeds, and the Article 36 court assessment — 40 business days, full tax paid, 50% of penalties secured — if it does not and the total exceeds AED 100,000. At or below AED 100,000 the Committee is final, so argue accordingly.
Sources and legal basis
Legislation and decisions3
- Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures
- Federal Decree-Law No. 17 of 2025
- Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2023 (Executive Regulation of the Tax Procedures Law)
Authorities, systems and registers2
- Federal Tax Authority (FTA)
- EmaraTax
Terms used1
- Tax Disputes Resolution Committee (TDRC)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures and its amendments, consolidated 3 December 2025Federal Tax Authority, as published by the Ministry of Finance
- Reconsideration Request service card (fee, EmaraTax path, response time; page last updated 19 August 2026)Federal Tax Authority
Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. Every figure above is linked to the authority that publishes it — if the two ever disagree, the authority is right and this page is out of date. Tell us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked questions
My reconsideration was refused — what next?
Object to the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee within 40 business days of notification of the refusal. You need the prior reconsideration on record and the connected tax paid in full. Read the refusal's stated reasons first — they tell you exactly what the objection must answer.
Can foreign branches skip the TDRC and go to court?
No. Article 33(4) bars the courts from hearing a tax dispute where no objection was first submitted to the Committee, and Article 32(2)(a) bars the Committee where no reconsideration was filed. Each rung is a precondition for the next.
Is the TDRC decision final for foreign branches?
Where the total of tax and penalties does not exceed AED 100,000, yes — Article 33(3) makes the Committee's decision final. Above that, either side has 40 business days to appeal to the competent court under Article 36.