GCG Structuring Managing Partner Peter Ivantsov urges business owners to review their tax setup, as they may unwittingly be accumulating non-compliance risks
Dubai, UAE,May 2026 — With UAE corporate tax regulations now fully active and enforced, a growing number of entrepreneurs and business owners are unknowingly exposed to liabilities they assumed did not apply to them, says Peter Ivantsov, Managing Partner of GCG Structuring – one of the UAE’s leading corporate structuring firms.
Since the introduction of the UAE’s 9% corporate tax framework, misconceptions have taken hold across the business community. Many founders operating in free zones continue to assume automatic exemption from the tax, while others underestimate the technical requirements needed to legally qualify for the 0% rate. The result, according to Ivantsov, is a significant and avoidable compliance gap.
“The most dangerous assumption we see is that a free zone license automatically means zero tax. That is not how the Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) rules work. There are substance requirements, income conditions, and compliance obligations that most businesses simply are not aware of. By the time they find out, the liability has already accumulated,” cautions Peter Ivantsov, Managing Partner, GCG Structuring
He identifies several recurring errors among businesses that set up before the corporate tax rollout and have not conducted a structural review since. These include incorrect entity classification, inadequate economic substance documentation, and a failure to align business activities with the permitted income categories required for QFZP status.
Based on hundreds of client assessments, GCG Structuring has identified the five most recurring errors that leave UAE-based businesses unknowingly exposed:
- Assuming free zone registration equals automatic tax exemption. Free zone companies must meet the QFZP criteria to access the 0% rate. This includes deriving qualifying income, maintaining adequate economic substance and meeting transfer pricing documentation standards. Many businesses fail one or more of these tests without even realising it.
- Insufficient economic substance. The UAE requires businesses to demonstrate real operational activity in the jurisdiction in which they’re registered. Companies with minimal local presence, no local employees or directors who are never physically in the UAE are increasingly flagged during compliance reviews. A registered address and a trade license are not enough.
- Mixing qualifying and non-qualifying income within a single entity. When a free zone entity earns income from mainland UAE clients or from activities outside its licensed scope, it risks losing QFZP status entirely for that tax period, with the 9% rate applying to all income rather than just the non-qualifying portion. This is one of the most costly and least understood traps in the current framework.
- Failing to register for corporate tax on time. All UAE businesses, including those that expect to pay zero tax, are required to register with the Federal Tax Authority and submit annual tax returns. Late registration and missed filings carry administrative penalties that are entirely avoidable with the right compliance calendar in place.
- Outdated structures that predate the tax framework. Many entrepreneurs set up their companies between 2018 and 2022, well before corporate tax was introduced. Structures that made sense then may no longer be fit for purpose. Without a post-tax review, these businesses are operating with a setup that was never designed for the current regulatory environment.
The issue is not limited to free zone operators. Mainland companies, holding structures and multi-entity groups each carry their own set of tax obligations that require deliberate planning rather than assumption. GCG Structuring advises entrepreneurs to treat their corporate structure as a live, managed asset rather than a one-time administrative task.
Ivantsov adds: “The entrepreneurs who are protected are the ones who built the right structure from the start and kept it properly maintained. Those who took shortcuts at setup are now having to fix expensive problems. The tax framework is no longer new. There is no grace period left.”
About Peter Ivantsov:
Peter is the founder of GCG Structuring, a Dubai-based corporate services firm that handles company formation, tax residency, compliance, banking, and wealth structuring for entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals.
He founded GCG because he kept seeing the same problem of business owners making expensive structural mistakes early. For example, wrong freezone, wrong entity, wrong tax residency assumptions and paying for it years later. The UAE’s introduction of corporate tax made that gap more costly than ever.
Peter began his career at HSBC before spending over a decade building deep expertise in the UAE’s corporate and financial landscape. In twelve years on the ground in Dubai, he has set up over 200 companies and helped clients structure and move more than a billion dollars of wealth across jurisdictions.
He is based in Dubai and is a leading voice on UAE structuring, corporate tax, and the realities of doing business in the Gulf.
About GCG Structuring:
GCG Structuring helps business owners, entrepreneurs, and investors relocate to and operate within the UAE through customised, end-to-end corporate strategies. Services span business setup, corporate structuring, tax planning, banking, compliance, and residency. GCG’s client base spans the UK, France, South Africa, Canada, Eastern Europe and beyond. This includes entrepreneurs relocating to the UAE, founders running cross-border operations, and HNWIs who need a structure that holds up as regulations evolve.
GCG’s model is straightforward. It is built on one team, a full picture and no handoffs. Formation, structuring, compliance, banking, and renewals are handled end-to-end for clients who want it done properly from the start. www.gcg-structuring.com
