FTA Additional Information Request: Corporate Tax Deregistration Explained

You submitted your Corporate Tax deregistration application on EmaraTax, and a few weeks later an email arrives: “The FTA requires the following additional information in respect of your application…” This is one of the most common stages of the CT deregistration process, and how you respond decides whether the application is approved or rejected. This guide explains exactly what the FTA asks for, why, and how to prepare the right documents — and if you would rather hand it over, our CT deregistration service handles the whole process from AED 399.

What is an FTA additional information request?

It is a formal email the FTA sends when it reviews your deregistration application and finds something missing, inconsistent or unclear. It is not a rejection — it is a standard verification step that occurs in the majority of CT deregistration cases, as the FTA confirms your tax obligations are fully settled before removing your TRN from the Corporate Tax register.

The email states a deadline to respond — commonly around 20 business days, though the exact date is in the FTA’s message, so always work to the date quoted [VERIFY]. Miss it and the FTA may reject the application, forcing you to reapply from scratch. What matters is how quickly and accurately you respond: a well-prepared package clears the application, while an incomplete one triggers another round of queries or an outright rejection.

What does the FTA actually ask for?

Two requests dominate the CT deregistration correspondence we handle: missing financial statements, and a mismatch between the statements and the filed CT return. Both are about the FTA being able to trace and verify your tax position end to end.

Request 1 — missing financial statements. The FTA asks you to attach a full liquidation report or financial statements covering income statement and balance sheet up to the cessation date, signed and stamped — because the attachment provided did not cover a specific period (for example, 06/06/2024–31/12/2024). In other words, the financials submitted did not go back to the start of the company’s first Corporate Tax period.

Request 2 — statements do not match the CT return. The FTA compares the financial statements you submitted against the CT return you filed, and the figures differ. It may also note that the balance sheet still shows Property, Plant & Equipment while the company is liquidating, and ask what happened to it — was it sold, written off or transferred, and where did the proceeds go? This has to be explained and documented.

Why does the FTA need IFRS financial statements from FY 2024?

Because UAE Corporate Tax applies to tax periods beginning on or after 1 June 2023, and the FTA needs to verify your tax position from your very first CT period — not just from the day you decided to liquidate. For a calendar-year (January–December) business, the most common case, that first tax period is 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 (FY 2024); a business with a different financial year, or one incorporated later, has its first period set accordingly.

A liquidation report — prepared for FY 2025 or FY 2026 — typically covers only the closing balance-sheet date and roughly a year of transactions. It does not look back to the first CT period. So the FTA still needs separate IFRS financial statements for each year in between.

In this example the company was incorporated in June 2024, so its first tax period starts then; a company that existed earlier would provide statements from the start of its first CT period (FY 2024 for a calendar-year filer). The FTA wants the entire tax history from CT inception to cessation — every period, every return, every statement. Preparing these is exactly what our accounting team does before filing.

Liquidation report vs IFRS financial statements — what's the difference?

They serve different purposes, and the FTA expects both in most CT deregistration cases. A liquidation report tells the free zone authority the company is closed; IFRS financial statements tell the FTA the company’s tax obligations are correctly computed and settled.

The takeaway is simple: you need both. Our teams prepare IFRS financial statements and, where a free zone requires it, the liquidation audit report that accompanies them.

What are the most common issues the FTA flags?

Across the CT deregistration cases we handle, the same six issues trigger additional-information requests again and again. Clearing them before you apply is the surest way to a smooth approval.

How do you respond to each request?

Respond precisely to what was asked, with signed documents and a clear explanation, packaged as one organised PDF. The response route depends on which of the three common requests you received.

1. Read the request and note the deadline — identify exactly which period or figure the FTA is querying, and the date by which you must reply.
2. Missing statements — prepare IFRS financial statements (P&L + balance sheet, with notes if material) for the missing period, signed and stamped, and upload the signed PDF to EmaraTax.
3. Statements do not match the return — pinpoint the differing line items; if the CT return was wrong, file a voluntary disclosure to correct it; if the statements were wrong, prepare corrected ones. Attach a short memo explaining the difference with supporting invoices, bank statements or contracts.
4. Clarify assets (PP&E) — prepare an asset-disposal schedule showing each asset, its book value, how it was disposed (sold, transferred, written off), any proceeds, and where they were recorded; include a transfer agreement and fair-value assessment if transferred to a shareholder.

What documents should you submit with a CT deregistration application?

Submitting a complete package with the original application is the best way to avoid an additional-information request altogether. For a typical free zone company, that means the following.

What are the CT deregistration deadline and penalties?

A Corporate Tax deregistration application must be filed within 3 months of the date the business ceases — stops trading, dissolves or is liquidated. Missing that window is itself a penalisable failure under the Corporate Tax administrative penalties in Cabinet Decision 75/2023 (as amended by 10/2024): an initial penalty of AED 1,000, increasing monthly up to a cap of AED 10,000 [VERIFY exact amounts].

Separately, deregistration only completes once all CT returns are filed, all Corporate Tax is paid, and any VAT obligations are settled — which is why gathering the financial statements and clearing open filings early matters. If a filed return needs correcting, a voluntary disclosure carries its own penalties, so it is better to file accurately the first time. For the wider process, see our UAE Corporate Tax guide.

How much does it cost to prepare these documents?

Costs depend on how many open periods you have and how complex the structure is. Note the distinction: simple IFRS financial statements are a different (and cheaper) product from a full liquidation audit report.

For a typical free zone company with a simple structure, the total cost of CT deregistration — financial statements, liquidation report and CT filing — ranges from about AED 2,500 to AED 4,000, depending on the number of open periods and complexity.