New UAE law on charity donations approved by FNC

The Federal National Council (FNC) has approved a draft federal law on regulating donations.

During a session chaired by Saqr Ghobash, FNC Speaker, the council highlighted the importance of organising, collecting and providing donations. It stressed the need to protecting donors’ funds, creating an “attractive local environment for donations”, and reinforcing coordination between federal and local authorities.

The law’s provisions will apply to any entity that wants to collect or provide donations in the country, including in free zones.

Under the draft law, donating to any individual or entity outside the country may only take place according to the “controls and procedures” highlighted by the law’s executive regulations.

The law also stipulates that any association or entity may only be called a “charity” or “humanitarian association” on receiving a certificate of classification. An exemption to this rule are organisations and authorities whose decrees, laws, or resolutions of establishment confirm that they are called a “charity” or “humanitarian association”.

• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi