Set Up Your Offshore Company in Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre
100% foreign ownership is allowed at the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre, which is also referred to as RAK Offshore. There is a minimum requirement of one owner for the company. There must also be one Director for the company. The name of the Director(s) and the Ultimate Beneficial Owner, if different from the Director, must be provided to the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre. This is only to combat money laundering and the information will not be made public in any way.
An offshore company incorporated in the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre is exempted from all import and export duties. There is also no short-term capital gains tax or long-term capital gains tax payable. The Director(s) and/or the Ultimate Beneficial Owner are not required to pay any taxes on their personal income generated in the United Arab Emirates. Offshore companies incorporated in the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre do not have to pay any corporate taxes.
The United Arab Emirates has Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements with 135 countries, so if the country of your residence or citizenship is on the list, you may not be required to pay any taxes on your income generated through your offshore company in the United Arab Emirates. This is subject to the specific Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement signed with your country of citizenship or residence. For more details, get in touch with us.
Offshore companies incorporated in the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre do not have to get their accounts audited. The accounting requirements are simple. The annual accounts must be approved by the Director(s) and preserved for seven years. These are not required to be filed anywhere. An Annual General Meeting of the shareholders must be held every year, but this can be held anywhere in the world.
There must be a minimum of one share for the offshore company incorporated in the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre. This can be in United States Dollar, British Pound, Euro, or UAE Dirham. There are no foreign currency restrictions for offshore companies located in the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre. The company’s name must end with ‘Limited’ or ‘Incorporated’, and shares can be transferred at any time without attracting any duties.
There is no restriction on the number of staff that can be hired. In fact, it is possible to operate an offshore company out of the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre without hiring any staff whatsoever. An office is mandatory, and the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre itself provides multiple office options for you to choose from.
You can also be involved in up to five business activities at a time. You could set up your offshore company as a holding company to own assets or shares in other companies, invest in real estate, be into business management consulting or real estate consulting. You could also set up your offshore company to offer information technology consulting services or be engaged in general trading.
It takes five business days to register an offshore company in the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre. You need to have a Registered Agent, who will assume all responsibility for running the Registered Office of the offshore company located in the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre. If the Ultimate Beneficial Owner of the company changes at any time, this must be communicated to the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre promptly.
The Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre does not share any tax information with any country. However, the Registrar reserves the right to strike off a company from the Company Register if it does not pay its fees as applicable towards the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre or is involved in any activity that is prejudicial to the interests of the United Arab Emirates.