ABU DHABI 13 April 2020: The UAE Ministry of Economy announced on Sunday the reduction of fees associated to 94 services provided to individuals, companies, and the business sector.
The announcement follows the issuance of UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 20 of 2020 regarding services fees issued by the ministry.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy, fee reductions span a range of services, particularly those related to innovation, business activities, investment, production, trade, import and export activities, said Wam.
Such services include commercial registration services, commercial agencies, trademarks, origin, auditors and intellectual properties, it added.
Cuts of up to 98 per cent
According to the ministry, the reduction rates applied to these services reach up to 98 percent. The financial impact on the business sector as a result of this reduction is estimated to be valued at Dh113 million in 2020.
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said: “Reducing fees for services provided by the Ministry of Economy to individuals and companies will reduce the cost of establishing and conducting business in the country and will reduce the burden on commercial and investment institutions, which is to support the main and affected sectors stimulating the economic environment and ensuring the sustainability of the pioneering structure of the national economy and business continuity.”
25 percent discounts: The Ministry of Economy detailed a schedule of fee updates across services. Among them are services receiving 25 percent discounts including, the collective management licence fees; applications for registering a trademark or trademarks of goods, products or services related to a single category; and publishing official documents for joint stock companies or partnership companies on shares basis, among other services.
Fifty percent discounts: Fifty percent discounts apply to some of the ministry’s services as well, including ‘To Whom Concerned’ certificates for auditors; ratification of partnership contracts; renewing the registration of branches of national companies in an auditors schedule, and ‘Origin Certificates’ for national products (plus the amount of the invoice) among others.
95 percent reduction: Most notable were the 95 percent reduction in fees for the licence to utilise the ‘Made in UAE’ mark and the 98 percent reduction in renewal fees for said licence.
CBUAE urges banks to support private sector
The Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), Abdulhamid Saeed, held his first meeting with CEOs of banks operating in the country to emphasise the systemic significance of extending support to private sector companies and individuals affected by Covid-19 as part of the Targeted Economic Support Scheme (TESS).
The meeting comes as part of its ongoing mandate to safeguard financial stability in the UAE.
The bank CEOs endorsed the exceptional measures taken by the CBUAE in a very short time span and welcomed the efforts of the Central Bank of the UAE to support the banking sector and the national economy from the impact of the spread of COVID-19 and expressed their willingness to participate in the TESS. In addition, banks’ CEOs confirmed to the CBUAE their decision to avail the benefits of TESS.
Since the launch of the TESS on 14 March 2020, a total of Dh10 billion has been provided to banks in the form of zero interest funding, and over Dh61 billion in the form of lowered cash reserve requirements, which are to be deployed to directly benefit companies and consumers who have been adversely impacted by the pandemic.
The Central Bank encouraged all banks to accelerate their confirmation to implement TESS measures as soon as possible.
CBUAE will be reaching out to the banks during the coming days to better understand how they plan to serve the objectives of TESS and help their customers to cope with the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic.
“We urge banks and financial institutions to act in the best interest of retail clients, private sector corporates and SMEs, which are the growth engine of our economy,” said the governor.
Banks which have yet to confirm their participation in the TESS are called upon to do so at the earliest, to protect our economy.
UAE to support exporters, businesses facing disruption
The UAE’s federal export credit company, Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) is supporting UAE exporters and businesses facing payment and supply chain disruption concerns due to Covid-19 with a range of services that will help them navigate these economic times.
ECI provided guarantees and insurance solutions to mitigate the political and commercial risks arising from financing or refinancing export transactions, on behalf of the UAE government, helping ease the pressure caused by the global spread of COVID-19, the company said in a press release on Sunday.
To help mitigate the uncertainty of exporting to other countries, ECI offered financial support to domestic companies’ international export operations and other activities.
It also encouraged exporters based in the UAE to take the benefits of ECI advisory solutions that help in finding alternative suppliers globally.
Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI, commented, “ECI has the expertise and knowledge to support UAE-based companies exporting to different parts of the world. We have been partnering with banks and intermediaries since 2018 to help UAE businesses of all sizes fulfil and get paid for export contracts and ease access to export funding.”
“For exporters and businesses that are concerned about getting paid, ECI offers an export credit insurance solution that can help them recover the cost of fulfilling an order that is terminated by events outside their control, such as the adverse impacts of Covid-19,” he added.
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