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Dubai has launched its third stimulus package to ease the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on businesses. Worth AED1.5 billion, the new package raises the valueof business incentivesintroduced by the emirate’s government in the past few months to AED6.3 billion.
Crown Prince and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum emphasised the Government of Dubai’s commitmentto continue supporting all economic sectors in overcoming the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Our economy is strong, has a stable foundation and has shown high resilience to crises, all of which enable us to effectivelynavigateany global challenge. We stand together with the private sector to overcome the impact of the pandemic. We are keen to help businesses renew their growth momentum as soon as possible,” His Highness said.
The new stimulus package features many initiatives to support business sectors across the economy. In the tourism and entertainment sector, an initiative to refund hotel establishments and restaurants 50% of the 7% municipality fees charged on sales will be extended for the period from July to December 2020. In addition, the ‘Tourism Dirham Fee’ has been halved until the end of the year.
In the international trade sector, fines for some customs cases will be reduced by 80%, with the optionto pay them in instalments, to help traders meet their financial obligations and boost business continuity. In the construction sector, payment of financial dues to contractors will be expeditedand all financial guarantees for construction activities related to commercial licences will be refunded.This will be replaced by another system that guarantees all the rights of the contractingparties.
In the education sector, private schools will be exempted from commercial and educational license renewal fees until the end of the year.
The current stimulus package extends the validity of some of the initiatives announced in the first stimulus package for an additional three months until the end of September 2020 as part of supportextended to the private sector in recovering from the crisis. These includethe freeze on the2.5% market fee and cancellation of all fines charged for late payment of government service fees. Payment of penaltieswill not be required to renew commercial licenses during this period.
Furthermore, commercial licenses can be renewed without the mandatory renewal of lease contracts. The 25% down payment requirement for paying government feesin instalments will also be cancelled. In addition, businesses are exempted from fees for sales and special offers.
In the international trade sector, exemptions for traditional commercial vessels registered locally in the UAE from docking fees at Dubai Port and HamriyaPort (including direct and indirect loading fees) will 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 processing of customs complaints will be accelerated.
In the tourism, entertainment and events sector, the freeze onfees charged forhotel rating, ticket sales,issuing permits and other government fees related to entertainment and business events has been extended.
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