FTA Penalty Notice? How to Request Reconsideration or a Waiver in UAE (Step by Step)

Which FTA penalties can you ask the FTA to reconsider?

You can request reconsideration of any FTA decision, including every administrative penalty for VAT and Corporate Tax. Whether it is worth doing depends on your grounds: a request succeeds on facts and evidence, not on hardship alone.

The table lists the penalties owners bring to us most often, with the grounds that tend to matter for each.

Violations that happened before 14 April 2026 are still assessed under the earlier VAT penalty rules, so older notices can show much larger amounts. Check the violation date on each penalty before you compare it with the current table in our UAE VAT penalties guide or our Corporate Tax penalties guide.

How the 40 business day reconsideration window works

You have 40 business days from being notified of the FTA decision to submit a reconsideration request, under the Tax Procedures Law. Business days exclude weekends and public holidays, so the window is roughly 8 calendar weeks when no holidays fall inside it.

Counting the deadline

Count from the date on the penalty decision you received, not the date you first noticed it on EmaraTax. For example, a decision dated Monday 14 September 2026 with no public holidays in between gives a last day of Monday 9 November 2026. Treat that as a hard stop and aim to submit two weeks earlier, because gathering evidence always takes longer than expected.

One request per decision

Each penalty decision has its own window. An owner with a late registration penalty in March and three late return penalties issued later has four clocks, not one. List every decision with its date before you start writing.

What a strong request contains

• The decision: penalty type, amount, tax period and decision date
• The facts: a short, dated timeline of what actually happened
• The grounds: why the penalty should not apply or should be reduced, tied to the rule
• The evidence: submission receipts, emails, screenshots, bank proofs, contracts
• The request: exactly what you want, such as cancelling the penalty or correcting the period

Reconsideration, waiver or voluntary disclosure: which route fits your notice?

Reconsideration is the formal route for disputing a decision already issued; a waiver is a condition the FTA has published for removing a specific penalty; voluntary disclosure is how you correct your own error before or after the FTA finds it. Using the wrong one wastes the 40 business days.

The conditions of published waivers are set out on the FTA’s waiver of penalties page, listed in the sources below. Where a waiver condition was met but the penalty still shows, reconsideration is how you ask the FTA to apply it. For errors you discover yourself, see when and how to file a voluntary VAT disclosure.

Should you pay the penalty or dispute it, and what happens after a rejection?

Pay the underlying tax straight away even while you dispute the penalty, because late payment on unpaid tax runs at 14% a year, calculated monthly, and a pending request should not be assumed to pause that clock. Whether to pay the penalty itself is a separate decision, and paying does not remove your right to request reconsideration within the window.

When disputing is worth it

Dispute when you have documents that contradict the FTA’s facts: a submission receipt dated before the deadline, an application date within 30 days of the trigger, or a first Corporate Tax return filed inside the 7-month waiver window. Requests based only on not knowing the law, cash flow problems or an adviser’s mistake are much weaker, although a clearly documented error by the FTA’s own systems can help.

The Tax Disputes Resolution Committee

If the FTA rejects your reconsideration request, you can take the dispute to the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee. Read the rejection letter carefully, because it sets out the time limit and any conditions for objecting. The Committee reviews the documents from your request, so a well-evidenced first request makes this step far stronger. Beyond the Committee, disputes can go to the courts.

Grounds you can adapt

How to submit a reconsideration request on EmaraTax

A reconsideration request is submitted on EmaraTax against a specific decision. These steps take a notice from your inbox to a complete, evidenced request.

Evidence to collect before you write the request

The FTA decides on the documents you send, so collect them before drafting. Anything without a date is weak evidence.

• The penalty decision or notice, with its date and reference
• EmaraTax submission receipts for every relevant return
• Registration certificates showing tax periods and effective dates
• Bank transfer confirmations with payment references
• Emails and correspondence with the FTA, including correction requests
• Screenshots of system errors, with date and time visible
• Sales tables, contracts or invoices proving when a threshold was crossed
• Memorandum of association showing the financial year
• Arabic translations of key documents where needed

Dates that matter after an FTA penalty notice

The reconsideration window is the date that cannot be missed, but return and payment dates keep running alongside it.

The 2026 penalty amounts you may be disputing

Before disputing, confirm the amount on your notice matches the current rule for the violation date. VAT penalties follow Cabinet Decision 129/2025 for violations from 14 April 2026, and Corporate Tax penalties follow Cabinet Decision 75/2023 as amended.

Penalties stack across decisions. A trading company with a late VAT registration (AED 10,000), a first late return (AED 1,000), a repeat late return within 24 months (AED 2,000) and AED 24,000 of VAT unpaid for 6 months faces AED 13,000 in fixed penalties plus about AED 1,680 of late payment (AED 24,000 x 14% / 12 = AED 280 a month, x 6). Reconsideration can only address the decisions that were wrong; paying the VAT is what stops the AED 280 a month.

6 mistakes that sink FTA reconsideration requests

Most failed requests fail on timing or evidence, not on the merits. Avoid these.

• Paying and hoping. Paying without checking the decision means an incorrect penalty stays on your record, and a repeat within 24 months can be charged at the higher rate.
• Missing the 40 business day window. Once it closes, the decision stands, however strong your facts were.
• Disputing while returns are still overdue. New late return penalties keep being issued, and the request looks weak when the underlying problem is still open.
• Writing a hardship letter instead of grounds. Not knowing the rules or being short of cash rarely changes a penalty; dated evidence does.
• Sending one request for several decisions without listing each. Every decision has its own reference and window, and a vague request can leave some unaddressed.
• Leaving the underlying tax unpaid. Late payment runs at 14% a year calculated monthly, so the amount under dispute grows while you wait.

How to avoid the next FTA penalty notice

The cheapest penalty is the one never issued. This routine removes the triggers behind almost every notice we review, and repeat violations within 24 months are charged at higher rates.

• Track rolling 12-month taxable supplies against AED 375,000 every month
• File and pay VAT by the 28th after each period, including nil returns
• Diary the Corporate Tax return 9 months after year end
• Reconcile the sales ledger, POS or platform reports and the VAT 201 each period
• Issue tax invoices within 14 days and a credit note for every refund
• Correct errors by voluntary disclosure before the FTA contacts you
• Check the EmaraTax penalties tab monthly so no decision date is missed
• Keep every submission receipt and payment confirmation in one folder

Request rejected, window missed or more notices arriving?

If the FTA rejected your request, prepare the objection to the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee within the time limit in the rejection letter, using the same evidence with any gaps filled. If you missed the 40 business days, the decision generally stands, so focus on stopping further penalties.

Stopping further penalties means filing every outstanding return and paying the tax. For Corporate Tax, our missed Corporate Tax deadline guide sets out the first 7 days, and dormant companies should read the nil Corporate Tax return guide. For VAT registration penalties, see late VAT registration and backdated VAT.

If the notice is part of an audit rather than a standalone penalty, read how to respond to an FTA tax audit notice before sending anything.

Worked example: a trading company's penalty notice, week by week

Take an illustrative Ajman trading company that receives penalty decisions dated Monday 14 September 2026: AED 10,000 for late VAT registration and AED 1,000 for a late return, with AED 24,000 of VAT still unpaid. The owner’s evidence shows the registration application was started within 30 days of crossing the threshold, so that penalty has a factual ground. The late return does not.

The owner controls two numbers: the AED 280 a month that stops when the VAT is paid, and whether a well-evidenced request reaches the FTA before the window closes. Everything else is the FTA’s decision.

Write the request yourself, use a freelancer or hire a firm?

A single penalty with a clean submission receipt is often simple enough to dispute yourself. Several decisions, older penalties under the earlier rules or a rejection heading to the Committee usually justify professional help.

If you are choosing an adviser, our guide on how to choose a tax agent in the UAE lists the red flags. To have your notice reviewed and the request prepared, see our VAT audit and penalty support service.

What owners holding FTA penalty notices ask us