RAK ICC

RAK IBC

What is RAK ICC

RAK International Corporate Centre (RAK ICC) is a Government registry in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. RAK ICC was established through the Decree No.12 of 2015 to carry out registration of International Business Companies (IBCs). RAK ICC provides a full range of registry services to IBCs by operating in accordance with international standards. An IBC can be incorporated in 4-5 days upon submission of all required documents to the authority. Urgent applications may be accepted by the authority for an additional fee.

Key Features of RAK ICC

Types of RAK ICC Companies

A. Company Limited by Shares

Company Limited by Shares is that liability of the shareholder is limited to the amount that they have committed and agreed. A Company Limited by Shares must always have at least one shareholder and one director and may issue bonus shares, partly paid shares or nil paid shares. Shares may be held by more than one person as joint owners. Company Limited by Shares is flexible and can be used for different purposes such as:

International company – flexible corporate vehicle for worldwide investments and global trade
Holding company – to hold shares in subsidiary companies
Special purpose vehicle – to hold specific assets and underlying asset may be indirectly sold by selling the shares in the company
Joint venture company – rights of shareholders may be outlined in the Memorandum and Articles or shareholders’ agreement
Family office – private vehicle with limited requirement and disclosure obligations
Segregated portfolio company – permit the separation of ownership from management and control
Company Limited by Shares is the most common type of company

B. Company Limited by Guarantee

Company Limited by Guarantee gets commitment from its guarantee member(s) to contribute to a specific amount in event of liquidation of the company. A Company Limited by Guarantee must have at least one guarantee member and the rights of the guarantee member cannot be transferred. A Company Limited by Guarantee may be used to confer certain rights to guarantee member, where the latter has an interest in the underlying assets of the CLG. An example is to confer upon real estate owners (more specifically apartment owners) certain rights in the company that manages the real estate for the apartment owners.

C. Unlimited companies

An unlimited company is incorporated with or without share capital and where the liabilities of its members are not limited. All its members have joint and unlimited obligation to meet any insufficiency in the assets of the company. Unlimited Company is usually used to avoid the need for a guarantee member and where the company is dealing with a sole supplier/customer.

Documents required to incorporate a RAK IBC

The following documents (in original or appropriately certified) are normally required on shareholders to incorporate a RAK IBC*:

Benefits of Registering a RAK IBC

Control

The shareholder has full control and remains the owner of a RAK IBC with 100 % ownership. There is no restriction of the types of shares issued and number of shareholders. RAK ICC gives you the right to register share pledge. Currently, RAK ICC has over 30,000 companies registered, with shareholders coming from over 160 countries.

Flexibility

There is no requirement for minimum capital and bank accounts can be opened in the UAE or internationally. RAK ICC also reduces or sometimes eliminate the burden of attestation of documents. RAK ICC gives you the opportunity to establish subsidiary in Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) where the cost of doing business is often 50% less than Dubai.

Security

RAK ICC has entered into an MOU with the DIFC and ADGM which means that RAK ICC operates under common law legislation and companies will have access to Common Law Courts. The DIFC Will and probate has been extended recently to cover assets situated in Ras Al Khaimah which means that bank accounts and shareholding of IBCs can be protected by putting a DIFC Will in place

Re-domiciliation

RAK ICC modern legislation allows for migration and re-domiciliation of companies in and out of RAK ICC. Instead of incorporating a new entity in RAK ICC, an existing offshore company in another jurisdiction can be re-domiciled in RAKK ICC and continue with its reputation and history. However, re-domiciliation to RAK ICC is allowed if the initial country of incorporation provides for re-domiciliation provisions in its laws.

Economic Substance Requirement (ESR)

The UAE have implemented the Economic Substance Requirements (ESR) of the OECD. The country is fully compliant with the international tax commitments on tax cooperation. The result of this compliance is that the UAE is now one of the very few offshore jurisdictions named on the ‘whitelist’ of the European Union.

All business including IBCs carrying out Relevant Activities (as per OECD) will fall under the scope of ESR. The list of

Relevant Activities are as follows:

Banking business
Insurance business
Investment fund management business
Lease – finance business
Headquarters business
Shipping business
Holding company business
Intellectual property business (IP)
Service centre business distribution

A RAK IBC which does not carry out any of the above activity is not required to maintain economic substance in the UAE.

RAK IBCs carrying out Relevant Activities are required to demonstrate the following conditions:

Adequate employees, physical assets and expenditure in the UAE
Adequate core income generating activities are undertaken in the UAE
Directed and managed in the UAE

The above conditions can be outsourced by the RAK IBC entity and it is important that the RAK IBC entity demonstrates adequate supervision of the outsourced activities.

Premier Global Fiduciary Services DMCC is an approved Registered Agent of RAK ICC and is here to advise you how best to set up a RAK IBC in UAE and discuss all support services required. If you are interested in setting up a RAK IBC or for guidance and additional information, please feel free to contact us on contact@premier-dubai.com or call us on +97144696707. Know more about our Services.

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