UAE Federal Tax — How to File an FTA Reconsideration Request

Jurisdiction and scope — Federal/onshore United Arab Emirates tax procedure. This note covers an application asking the UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) to reconsider its own decision under Article 29 of Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022. It does not cover DIFC or ADGM court procedure, a Tax Disputes Resolution Committee objection, a court appeal, or a penalty-instalment or waiver application.

Law checked — 24 September 2026.

Short answer

A person may ask the FTA to reconsider all or part of an FTA decision issued in connection with that person. The request must state reasons and must be submitted within 40 business days from notification of the decision. File through the relevant EmaraTax profile under Other Services → Reconsiderations → New Request. Preserve the notification evidence, use the correct decision reference, state the factual and legal grounds clearly, and attach the supporting record. The FTA service is free.

When this procedure applies

Article 29 applies to an FTA decision, or part of a decision, issued in connection with the applicant. The FTA service card says that general enquiries, complaints and clarifications are not official decisions eligible for reconsideration. A tax assessment has an additional review route under Article 28. If a tax assessment review request is already pending, Article 29(3) prevents a reconsideration request concerning that assessment until the FTA issues the review decision or the decision period expires.

The concerned person may submit directly. The FTA also accepts submission through an appointed Tax Agent or Legal Representative. For a Tax Group, the Representative Member should submit. A tax adviser who is not registered as a Tax Agent cannot submit for another person merely because the adviser prepared the grounds.

Step-by-step filing workflow

1. Identify the reviewable act. Obtain the FTA decision and its reference number. Confirm that it is an official decision concerning the applicant, not advice, a general response or a complaint outcome.
2. Fix the notification date. Retain the EmaraTax message, email, SMS or other notification record. Article 11 of the Law treats a person as notified when the FTA sends the notification to the registered address in the prescribed way. The Executive Regulation recognises post, registered post, email, SMS, smart applications and the FTA electronic system.
3. Calendar the 40-business-day limit. Under Articles 1 and 49, exclude Federal Government weekends and official holidays, do not count the notification day, and move a deadline falling on a non-business day to the next business day. Use the Gregorian calendar. File early because a saved draft is not a submitted request.
4. Choose the correct route. For an assessment, decide whether to seek the Article 28 tax assessment review first. Do not run that review and reconsideration of the same assessment in parallel.
5. Set the filing authority. If filing through a representative, confirm that the EmaraTax appointment and authority are current. For a Tax Group, use the Representative Member’s profile.
6. Prepare reasoned grounds. Separate the decision challenged, relief requested, material facts, legal error and evidence. Cite the relevant statutory provisions or FTA guidance. Address each disputed adjustment or penalty independently.
7. Prepare the language set. Article 5 requires tax submissions in Arabic, while allowing the FTA to accept another language and request an Arabic translation. Treat Arabic as the controlling submission language unless the portal or FTA expressly accepts otherwise. The person providing a translation is responsible for its accuracy and cost.
8. Submit in EmaraTax. Open the Taxable Person profile, select Other Services, choose Reconsiderations, select New Request, enter the decision reference and category, complete the applicant and request details, upload the record, review the declaration, and submit.
9. Save proof. Download or capture the acknowledgement, submission date, request number and the final version of every attachment. Monitor EmaraTax and registered contact channels for further requests and the decision.

Documents and decisions checklist

• the complete FTA decision and its reference number;
• proof of when and how the decision was notified;
• a business-day deadline calculation showing excluded weekends and Federal Government holidays;
• a concise chronology and issue list;
• reasoned Arabic grounds, plus any working-language version;
• the tax law, executive decision, public clarification or guidance relied on;
• returns, ledgers, invoices, contracts, correspondence and payment evidence relevant to each ground;
• any tax advice relevant to the request, after considering privilege and disclosure consequences;
• the current Tax Agent, Legal Representative or Tax Group authority, if applicable; and
• the submission acknowledgement and a copy of the final filed package.

The current service card accepts Word, Excel, PDF, JPG, PNG and JPEG files, with a 5 MB limit per file. Organise exhibits so the FTA can connect each document to a numbered ground.

Deadlines and cost

A late-filing extension may be considered for specified events such as serious illness or accident of the authorised signatory, death, an uncontrollable temporary business disruption, disaster damage to records, a general FTA-system malfunction, sudden records disruption caused by a new computer system, inability to obtain documents requested by the FTA, or force majeure. The FTA must reject an extension based only on ignorance of obligations, third-party negligence, complexity of the matter or being busy running the business. Submit contemporaneous proof with the extension request.

Common errors

• counting from the date printed on the decision instead of the notification date;
• using 45 business days because an older FTA webpage has not been conformed to the current law;
• saving a draft and mistaking it for submission;
• filing a general complaint or clarification request as reconsideration;
• submitting through an adviser who lacks the required EmaraTax authority;
• starting both assessment review and reconsideration for the same assessment;
• providing assertions without indexed evidence or legal pinpoints;
• assuming English-only material must be accepted; and
• treating a late-filing extension as automatic or using a rejected reason from FTA Decision No. 1 of 2025.

Official source map

Automated-research disclosure — This practice note was prepared through automated legal research against the official sources listed above. It does not claim lawyer authorship or human legal review. The English statutory PDFs are unofficial translations, so the linked Arabic legislation should control if wording differs.

Next review — 24 December 2026, or earlier if the FTA changes the service card, EmaraTax workflow, Article 29 or the deadline-extension rules.