The Situation
A small free zone company registered in Sharjah (SRTIP) was being liquidated. The company had been in operation for about one year with minimal revenue (under AED 20,000), no employees, and the owner was closing the business at a loss — paying the liquidation costs out of pocket.
The company had already obtained a liquidation audit report from another auditor covering the period up to October 2024. The licence had been cancelled by the free zone. The owner needed the CT deregistration certificate to complete the closure.
Fastlane was engaged to handle the CT deregistration.
The Problem: Period Mismatch
The company had two CT periods on EmaraTax:
Period 1 (CT Return): 01/11/2023 to 31/12/2024 — already filed and processed. ✅
Period 2 (Final Deregistration Return): 01/01/2025 to 26/11/2025 — filed by Fastlane, status "Submitted." ✅
The deregistration application was submitted on 5 February 2026. Then the FTA came back with the standard "additional information required" email asking for:
"Full Financial Statements for all the tax periods (Balance sheet, Trial Balance, Profit and loss) or a declaration letter of the revenue and the assets and it should be signed or stamped."
The issue: the client's existing liquidation report covered a different period (up to October 2024) than the CT tax periods (Nov 2023–Dec 2024 and Jan–Nov 2025). The FTA wanted financial information specifically for their tax period dates — which the liquidation report didn't precisely cover.
"My company was in loss and I cancelled the licence from my pocket. Then for deregistration I paid extra. Now again this happened. AED 999 is too much for me." — The client had already paid for the liquidation report and couldn't afford new financial statements. A valid concern for a micro-company with under AED 20,000 in total revenue.
The Solution: Declaration Letter + Existing Documents
Instead of preparing new financial statements (which would have cost the client AED 999+), Fastlane took a two-step approach:
Step 1: We resubmitted the deregistration application with the existing liquidation report the client already had — even though the periods didn't perfectly match. The liquidation report still contained relevant financial information about the company's position.
Step 2: We prepared a declaration letter — signed and stamped by the owner on company letterhead — specifically declaring the revenue and assets for the FTA's exact tax period dates. This bridged the gap between the liquidation report's period and the CT period dates.
The declaration letter explicitly stated the revenue for each CT period and confirmed total assets at the cessation date. Combined with the existing liquidation report, this gave the FTA everything they needed — without the client paying for new financial statements.
Read our detailed guide: Declaration Letter vs Financial Statements — What the FTA Accepts →
The Timeline — 67 Days
CT Returns Filed
Fastlane filed the CT return for the first period (Nov 2023–Dec 2024) and the final deregistration return (Jan–Nov 2025). Both filed under Small Business Relief with zero tax payable.
CT Deregistration Application Submitted
Application submitted on EmaraTax. Status: "Submitted." Reference number assigned.
FTA Requests Additional Information
Email from noreply@tax.gov.ae: "kindly attach Full Financial Statements for all the tax periods... or a declaration letter of the revenue and the assets."
Declaration Letter Prepared & Application Resubmitted
Client signed and stamped the declaration letter. Fastlane resubmitted the application with the declaration letter + existing liquidation report. Same day turnaround.
FTA Review Period
Application under review. No additional information requests. Fastlane monitored EmaraTax regularly for updates.
CT Deregistration Approved ✓
FTA email: "The FTA has approved your application to Deregister for CT Purposes on 13.04.2026. The effective date of Deregistration being 26.11.2025." Certificate available for download on EmaraTax.
✅ Result: CT deregistration approved. Certificate issued. 67 days from application to certificate. No new financial statements needed — the declaration letter + existing liquidation report was sufficient. Client saved AED 999+ in unnecessary accounting fees.
Why This Worked
The company was small and simple. Under AED 20,000 revenue, no employees, no complex assets. A declaration letter was proportionate to the company's size.
We used existing documents wisely. Instead of starting from scratch, we leveraged the liquidation report the client already had — even though the periods didn't perfectly match — and used the declaration letter to fill the specific gaps the FTA needed.
We responded on the same day. When the FTA asked for additional info, we prepared the letter and resubmitted within hours. Fast response shows good faith and keeps the application moving.
The FTA email literally offers both options. "Financial Statements... or a declaration letter." We took them at their word — and it worked.
Lessons for Your CT Deregistration
Always try to use existing documents first. At Fastlane, our approach is to work with what the client already has — liquidation reports, management accounts, bank statements. We only prepare new documents when the FTA specifically requires them. This saves clients money.
The declaration letter option exists — use it. For small companies with straightforward financials, a signed declaration letter is a valid and accepted alternative to full financial statements. Read when it works →
File all CT returns before applying for deregistration. In this case, both the regular return and the final deregistration return were filed before the application. This prevented AED 500/month late filing penalties and showed the FTA the company was compliant. CT filing from AED 249 →
Budget realistically for CT deregistration. Not every deregistration costs AED 399. If the FTA asks for additional info, there may be extra costs for financial statements. But a good tax agent tries the cheaper route first. CT deregistration from AED 399 →
Need CT Deregistration? We Try the Smart Route First
AED 399 — includes declaration letter if applicable. We use existing documents before preparing new ones.
Managed by Nithin — FTA-Registered Tax Agent (TRN: 104218042400003)
This case study is based on an actual CT deregistration completed by Fastlane in Q1 2026. Client details have been anonymised. Certificate issued 13 April 2026.