Businesses caught dealing in counterfeit, adulterated, or spoiled goods in the UAE now have just 24 hours to clear them off the shelves or face swift state intervention, under tough new commercial fraud regulations that have officially taken effect.

The new rules, outlined in Cabinet Resolution No. 107 of 2026 (the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2023), significantly ramp up consumer protections. They grant authorities sweeping powers to raid premises, seize stock at the violator’s expense, issue public alerts, and order rapid product destruction.

The 24-hour countdown

Once the Ministry of Economy and Tourism or local authorities flag a non-compliant item, the clock starts ticking immediately. Suppliers must halt sales on the spot and execute four mandatory steps within 24 hours:

• Clear shelves and warehouses: Remove every affected batch from inventory.
• Alert supply chains: Notify downstream retailers and distributors to pull the products within the same 24-hour window.
• Recall active stock: Initiate steps to recover items already in circulation.
• Provide proof: Submit verified evidence to authorities confirming total withdrawal.

Miss the deadline? Expect the bill

Suppliers dragging their feet won’t stall enforcement.

Under Article 8, if a business fails to clear offending stock within 24 hours, government authorities will step in and clear markets and warehouses themselves within the following 48 hours, billing the non-compliant supplier for the entire operation.

Seizures, storage fees, and public name and shame

Authorities now hold expanded legal teeth to intervene early:

• Impounding stock: Suspected goods can be seized, locked in designated storage facilities, and held during lab testing, with all warehousing fees charged directly to the offender.
• Public consumer alerts: Regulators can publicly broadcast warnings naming the product type, description, and trademark to warn shoppers against dangerous goods.

Heavy penalties for violators

Ignorance is no longer an easy defence. Administrative penalties will hit anyone caught knowingly trading fraudulent goods, or anyone who should have reasonably known based on their industry expertise that the product posed a health and safety risk.

Regulators are paying particularly close attention to:

• High-risk goods: Medicines, organic foods, and agricultural supplies.
• Recycled hazards: Goods previously declared unfit for use that were reintroduced into the market.
• Profiteering & tampering: Counterfeit items bought for alteration, repackaging, or unlawful resale.
• Deceptive advertising: Products promoted with false claims regarding origin, ingredients, or quality standards.

Fast-track destruction: 15-day limit

Once a competent court or the Supreme Committee issues a formal ruling, authorities won’t let fake items linger in storage. Under Article 18, confiscated counterfeit and spoiled products must be destroyed within 15 working days, closing the door on unlawful resale.

For consumers, the revamped framework delivers stronger market surveillance and faster removal of hazardous goods. For traders, retailers, and distributors across the UAE, it sends a clear signal: compliance is non-negotiable, and slow reaction times will come with steep financial and legal costs.

Paying a year’s rent upfront could soon become a thing of the past for some Dubai tenants.

A new Rent Now, Pay Later service is expected to launch in Dubai in September, giving eligible renters the option of spreading their annual housing costs across up to 12 months with zero interest.

The initiative is being developed by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) in partnership with a local bank and is aimed at giving residents more flexibility when managing one of their biggest monthly expenses.

How will the Rent Now, Pay Later service work?

Under the proposed arrangement, a tenant would select a residential property as usual.

The participating bank would then pay the landlord the full annual rent upfront.

Instead of paying the entire amount at once, the tenant would repay the bank through flexible, interest-free instalments over a period of up to 12 months.

The model could effectively turn an annual rent commitment into a monthly payment arrangement, potentially making it easier for residents to manage their cash flow.

However, the scheme is still being developed, so several important details have yet to be announced.

Who will be eligible?

DLD and its banking partner have not yet released the full eligibility criteria.

Details covering applications, qualifying tenants and properties, repayment arrangements and how landlords will participate are expected to be announced when the service officially launches.

Until those rules are published, tenants should not assume that every Dubai rental property or resident will automatically qualify.

When will the new scheme launch?

The Rent Now, Pay Later service is expected to be introduced in September.

If implemented as planned, the initiative could make Dubai the first city to introduce this type of rental payment model as part of its residential rental market.

The scheme also builds on Dubai’s wider push to give tenants more flexibility in how they pay for housing.

Flexible rent payments

The new service follows DLD’s Flexi Rent initiative, announced in June.

That programme was designed to give tenants alternatives to traditional rental payment arrangements, including the ability to pay rent monthly, quarterly or twice a year.

During its first phase, DLD partnered with 12 real estate companies to provide more flexible arrangements for tenants.

Depending on the participating company and agreement, options included:

• Monthly rental payments
• Instalment plans extending up to 12 months
• Grace periods
• Adjusted payment schedules
• In some cases, waivers on rental increases

The Flexi Rent initiative was made available to both new and existing tenants.

Could monthly rent become the new normal?

Dubai’s rental market has traditionally involved tenants paying rent through a limited number of large payments, making the timing of rental cheques a significant financial consideration for residents.

The combination of Flexi Rent and the proposed Rent Now, Pay Later service could give tenants more ways to spread those costs throughout the year.

The key difference is that the upcoming bank-backed scheme would allow the landlord to receive the annual rent upfront, while the tenant repays the bank over time.

That could offer a different solution to the traditional monthly-rent model.

More details to come

The proposed service remains under development, meaning the final terms could change before launch.

Tenants will need to wait for DLD and its banking partner to confirm the precise requirements, participating properties, application process and repayment conditions.

For now, however, the headline proposal is straightforward: Dubai renters could soon have the option to spread an annual rent bill over as many as 12 months without interest.

Businesses across the UAE that play music for commercial purposes will face a new licensing system from December 2026, under rules announced by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism.

The new framework introduces licensing fees for a wide range of businesses and organisations that use music commercially, including restaurants, cafes, hotels, shopping malls, gyms and airlines.

Radio and television broadcasters, as well as concert organisers, will also fall under the new system.

The changes are outlined in the ministry’s new Collective Management in Music Guide, which sets out how music copyright and related rights will be managed across the UAE.

Which businesses will have to pay?

The new licensing requirements will apply to venues and businesses that commercially use music.

This includes:

When do the new UAE music fees start?

The new licensing fees are scheduled to come into effect in December 2026.

Businesses that require a licence will receive a renewable one-year licence. The fees will be collected through the organisations responsible for managing music rights, including the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation.

These organisations represent rights holders across the music industry, including composers, songwriters, singers, instrumentalists, record producers and music publishers.

Why is the UAE introducing the new system?

The government says the new framework is designed to create a more structured system for managing copyright and related rights in the UAE.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, standardising licensing requirements and fees should help reduce copyright violations while bringing the UAE’s approach more closely in line with international practices.

For businesses, that means music used as part of the customer experience, whether in a restaurant, hotel, gym or another commercial setting, will be subject to clearer licensing requirements.

Who is exempt from the music licensing fees?

Not every organisation or event will be covered by the new commercial licensing requirements.

The guide identifies exemptions that include:
Schools and academic institutions
Non-commercial celebrations
National events

This means the new fees are primarily focused on the commercial use of music rather than private or educational settings.

New fund will support UAE music talent

The new framework also includes a support mechanism for the country’s music industry.

A Cultural Support Fund in the Field of Music will be established to provide financial assistance and technical support to artists, performers and producers.

Under the new system, 10 per cent of the fees collected will be directed towards the fund.

The money will be used to support emerging musical talent and help promote Emirati music internationally.

What does this mean for UAE businesses?

For businesses that regularly play music for customers, the biggest change will be the introduction of a formal licensing requirement and associated annual fees.

The exact amount will depend on how the music is being used and the characteristics of the business, rather than being a single flat charge for every venue.

Businesses that rely on music as part of their atmosphere or entertainment offering will therefore need to factor the new licensing requirements into their operations from December 2026.

At the same time, the government says the system is intended to ensure creators and other rights holders receive appropriate recognition and compensation when their work is used commercially.

Music licensing rules: 

Start date: December 2026
Licence period: One year, renewable
Applies to: Commercial users of music
Examples: Restaurants, cafes, hotels, malls, gyms and airlines
Also covered: Radio, television and concerts
Fee structure: Sliding scale based on use and business characteristics
Exemptions: Schools, academic institutions, non-commercial celebrations and national events
Music support fund: 10% of collected fees

For UAE businesses, the new rules mark a significant change in how commercial music use will be licensed, while the accompanying support fund is designed to put part of those revenues back into the country’s developing music sector.