$136mln extra economic stimulus to support businesses

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, has launched an AED500 million ($136.15 million) economic stimulus package to support various business sectors across the economy, bringing the total value of stimulus packages introduced by the emirate to AED 6.8 billion in 2020.

The stimulus package is aimed at mitigating the impact of the current global economic situation on businesses and support them to overcome the current exceptional circumstances, "We strive to support the business sector while working together to counter the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The business sector is at the heart of our economy. We are keen to revive the business environment and open new horizons for entrepreneurs and investors in line with Dubai’s future aspirations," Sheikh Hamdan, said.

"We are working as one integrated system, and our main goal is to accelerate the pace of recovery and ensure that the economy can tide over this phase. The current circumstances require consistency in the business approaches to ensure continuity and a flexible economic environment that can adapt to global changes," he added.

The validity of some of the initiatives announced in the previous stimulus package for three months until the end of 2020 to support the private sector in coping with the repercussions of the pandemic has been approved. These include extending the freeze on market fees levied on all sectors in Dubai until the end of 2020. The exemptions for traditional commercial vessels registered locally in the UAE from docking fees at Dubai Port and Hamriya Port (including direct and indirect loading fees) will also be extended.

The AED50,000 bank or cash guarantee required to conduct customs clearance activity will continue to be waived, and bank and cash guarantees paid by customs clearance companies will be refunded.

Also, the fees on customs documents will continue to be reduced from AED50 to AED5 for each transaction, and the requirement for providing a banking instrument when submitting customs-related grievances continues to be cancelled.

In the tourism, entertainment and events sector, the freeze on fees charged for hotel rating, ticket sales, issuing permits and other government fees related to entertainment and business events has been extended until the end of 2020. The freeze on government permit fees for the retail sector will be also be extended until the end of November 2020.

Cancellation of all fines charged for late payment of government service fees and payments of penalties to renew commercial licenses has also been extended. Furthermore, commercial licenses can be renewed without the mandatory renewal of lease contracts.

The 25 percent down payment requirement for paying government fees in instalments will also be cancelled until the end of 2020.