UAE Federal Tax Authority: Corporate-tax filing and records

Verified source fact: the FTA states that Taxable Persons must retain records supporting the information in a Corporate Tax return and enabling verification of taxable income. Examples include transaction records, assets and their purchases or disposals, liabilities and shares held at the end of the Tax Period. Registered Exempt Persons must retain evidence supporting exempt status. The notice states a minimum retention period of seven years after the end of the relevant Tax Period and repeats the nine-month return and payment period and annual-declaration timing for registered Exempt Persons.

Horizon interpretation: the control is an evidence architecture, not a folder containing the filed form. The tax computation should reconcile to financial statements, ledgers, ownership, asset movements, elections, reliefs, losses, credits and payment evidence. Exempt status also needs a continuing proof file. The dated notice confirms these operational boundaries but does not determine whether the company is taxable, exempt, resident, a Free Zone Person or part of a tax group.

Next check: map the entity’s current status and Tax Period in EmaraTax to the latest law, Cabinet and Ministerial decisions and FTA guides. Confirm any longer retention rule arising from another law, audit, objection or transaction. Before disposal, verify that records remain complete, readable and linked to the return and payment; capture platform acceptance and bank-value evidence separately.