Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) has announced that it will implement a ‘120-days hassle-free license’ initiative, aimed to give businesses in Dubai a head start and promote the emirate’s competitiveness, by the end of 2012.
The initiative, being implemented under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, will simplify procedures and facilitate business in Dubai.
“Dubai being a hub, various categories of businesses choose to set up in the emirate for faster growth and market access. The 120-days license is part of DED’s efforts to enable businesses to make full use of the advantages of Dubai and improve the emirate’s ranking in the Doing Business Report of the World Bank,” said Mohammed Shael, CEO of the Business Registration and Licensing Division at DED.
The new initiative will allow investors to have their licenses issued immediately from DED depending on the risk factors of the intended business activity. Business activities in Dubai have been categorized as No-Risk, Low Risk and High-Risk for the sake of evaluating the risk component.
“The categorization depends on four main risk factors, evaluated on the basis of whether the business activity is harmful to human beings, harmful to animal life, harmful to plants, or harmful to the environment. When a businessman approaches DED for a license, a 120-days license is issued immediately, on completion of the necessary procedures, if the specific business activity falls under the No-Risk or Low-Risk categories,” explained Shael.
The 120-days license allows the businessman to start his business immediately and complete the rest of the licensing requirements, such as approvals from other government authorities concerned, within the next 120 days.
Government authorities are entitled to ensure full compliance of the license holder to the license criteria on day 121.
More than 90% of the businesses in the emirate are No-Risk or Low-Risk and therefore a vast majority of businesses stand to benefit from the 120 days license. For High-Risk business activities constituting the remaining 10 per cent – e.g. restaurants and clinics – all standards set by the government authorities concerned have to be fully met before DED issues the license, as Emirates 24/7 stated.
The Low-Risk category includes chemical plants and similar industrial operations that require pre-approvals from various authorities including Dubai Municipality and Civil Defense. “These facilities have stringent standards often embedded in their design and they go through years of preparation and inspections. Hence, there is no risk in issuing them a license. It will in fact allow them to complete procedures like testing and hiring before starting actual operations,” Shael said.
