Who is a related party for Corporate Tax?
A related party is someone connected to you or your business through family ties, ownership (50% or more) or control - such as close relatives, a shareholder owning half or more of a company, or a company you control. Transactions with them must be priced as if dealing with a stranger.
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The detail
Under Article 35 of the Corporate Tax Law, Related Parties include: natural persons related within the fourth degree of kinship or affiliation; a natural person and a juridical person where the person (with related parties) owns 50% or more or Controls the juridical person; two or more juridical persons linked by 50%+ common ownership or Control; a person and its Permanent Establishment; partners in the same Unincorporated Partnership; and a trustee, founder, settlor or beneficiary of a trust/foundation with its related parties. Control is defined broadly to include a 50%+ voting right, board composition right, profit entitlement, or the ability to exercise significant influence over the business's conduct and affairs.1
What the law says
- Article 35(1) of the Corporate Tax Law sets out the categories of Related Parties based on kinship, ownership, control, permanent establishment, partnership and trust relationships.1
- Article 35(2) defines Control as the ability to exercise 50% or more voting rights, determine 50% or more of the board, receive 50% or more of profits, or otherwise determine or significantly influence the conduct of the business.1
- Transactions between Related Parties must meet the arm's length standard under Article 34, which can lead to Taxable Income adjustments if pricing is not at arm's length.2
What it depends on
- The 50% ownership or control thresholds are measured directly or indirectly, and can be held alone or together with the person's own related parties.1
- Kinship-based relationships only apply to natural persons and are limited to the fourth degree of kinship or affiliation, including adoption or guardianship.1
- For the participation exemption asset test, a related party status of the participation itself is a separate specific condition under Ministerial Decision No. 302 of 2024.3
Check before you rely on it
- Map out ownership percentages (direct and indirect) between the parties involved.
- Check for any family relationships within the fourth degree of kinship.
- Review any agreements or arrangements that could give one party control over another's board, profits or business conduct.
Sources (3) — read the official text
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Article 35 – Related Parties and Control
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Article 35 – Related Parties and Control 1. For the purposes of this Decree-Law, “Related Parties” means any of the following: a. Two or more natural persons who are related within the fourth degree of kinship or affiliation, including by way of adoption or guardianship. b. A natural person and a juridical person where: 1) the natural person or one or more Related Parties of the natural person are shareholders in the juridical person, and the natural person, alone or together with its Related Parties, directly or indirectly owns a 50% (fifty percent) or greater ownership interest in the juridical person; or 2) the natural person, alone or together with its Related Parties, directly or indirectly Controls the juridical person. c. Two or more juridical persons where: 1) one juridical person, alone or together with its Related Parties, directly or indirectly owns a 50% (fifty percent) or greater ownership interest in the other juridical person; 2) one juridical person, alone or together with its Related Parties, directly or indirectly Controls the other juridical person; or 3) any Person, alone or together with its Related Parties, directly or indirectly owns a 50% (fifty percent) or greater ownership interest in or Controls such two or more juridical persons. d. A Person and its Permanent Establishment or Foreign Permanent Establishment. e. Two or more Persons that are partners in the same Unincorporated Partnership. f. A Person who is the trustee, founder, settlor or beneficiary of a trust or foundation, and its Related Parties. 2. For the purposes of this Decree-Law, “Control” means the ability of a Person, whether in their own right or by agreement or otherwise to influence another Person, including: a. The ability to exercise 50% (fifty percent) or more of the voting rights of another Person. Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and its amendments – Unofficial translation (as published by the Ministry of Finance) 42 b. The ability to determine the composition of 50% (fifty percent) or more of the Board of directors of another Person. c. The ability to receive 50% (fifty percent) or more of the profits of another Person. d. The ability to determine, or exercise significant influence over, the conduct of the Business and affairs of another Person.
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Article 34 – Arm’s Length Principle
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Article 34 – Arm’s Length Principle 1. In determining Taxable Income, transactions and arrangements between Related Parties must meet the arm’s length standard as specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article and any conditions that may be prescribed in a decision issued by the Authority. 2. A transaction or arrangement between Related Parties meets the arm’s length standard if the results of the transaction or arrangement are consistent with the results that would have been realised if Persons who were not Related Parties had engaged in a similar transaction or arrangement under similar circumstances. 3. The arm’s length result of a transaction or arrangement between Related Parties must be determined by applying one or a combination of the following transfer pricing methods: a. The comparable uncontrolled price method. b. The resale price method. c. The cost-plus method. d. The transactional net margin method. e. The transactional profit split method. 4. The Taxable Person may apply any transfer pricing method other than the methods listed in Clause 3 of this Article where the Taxable Person can demonstrate that none of the above methods can be reasonably applied to determine an arm’s length result and that any such other transfer pricing method used satisfies the condition of Clause 2 of this Article. 5. The choice and application of a transfer pricing method or combination of transfer pricing methods under Clause 3 or 4 of this Article must be made having regard to the most reliable transfer pricing method and taking into account following factors: a. The contractual terms of the transaction or arrangement. b. The characteristics of the transaction or arrangement. Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and its amendments – Unofficial translation (as published by the Ministry of Finance) 40 c. The economic circumstances in which the transaction or arrangement is conducted. d. The functions performed, assets employed, and risks assumed by the Related Parties entering into the transaction or arrangement. e. The business strategies employed by the Related Parties entering into the transaction or arrangement. 6. The Authority’s examination as to whether income and expenditures resulting from the Taxable Person’s relevant transactions or arrangements meet the arm’s length standard shall be based on the transfer pricing method used by the Taxable Person in accordance with Clause 3 or 4 of this Article, provided such transfer pricing method is appropriate having regard to the factors mentioned in Clause 5 of this Article. 7. Application of the selected transfer pricing method or combination of transfer pricing methods in accordance with Clause 3 or 4 of this Article may result in an arm’s length range of financial results or indicators acceptable for establishing the arm’s length result of a transaction or arrangement between Related Parties, subject to any conditions specified in a decision issued by the Authority. 8. Where the result of the transaction or arrangement between Related Parties does not fall within the arm’s length range, the Authority shall adjust the Taxable Income to achieve the arm’s length result that best reflects the facts and circumstances of the transaction or arrangement. 9. Where the Authority makes an adjustment to the Taxable Income pursuant to Clause 8 of this Article, the Authority shall rely on information that can or will be made available to the Taxable Person. 10. Where the Authority or a Taxable Person adjusts the Taxable Income for a transaction or arrangement to meet the arm’s length standard, the Authority shall make a corresponding adjustment to the Taxable Income of the Related Party that is party to the relevant transaction or arrangement. 11. Where a foreign competent authority makes an adjustment to a transaction or arrangement involving a Taxable Person to meet the arm’s length standard, such Taxable Person can make an application to the Authority to make a corresponding adjustment to its Taxable Income. Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and its amendments – Unofficial translation (as published by the Ministry of Finance) 41
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Article 9 – Application of the Asset Test
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Article 9 – Application of the Asset Test For paragraph (d) of Clause (2) of Article (23) of the Corporate Tax Law to apply, the Participation must be a Related Party of the Taxable Person.
Written by AI from the FTA sources above and checked before display. Not tax advice or official FTA information - confirm with a tax adviser before you act. Full disclaimer
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