Amendments have been effected to some provisions of the UAE Federal Law on Commercial companies as published in the Official Gazette No. 324 dated October 1999.
Article 2 of this law was amended with regard to companies upon which the law shall apply. According to the new provisions, the law applies to commercial companies incorporated in the country or to companies which have headquarters therein. Companies incorporated in free zone, however, would not be subject to this law, except in the case of acquiring the nationality of the state. The latter exception also applies to oil companies operating in the fields of exploration, drilling, marketing and transporting of oil. Also, exempted from the provisions of the Companies Law are companies generating electricity, gas, water desalination and their related activities, in addition to those companies exempted by decisions of the Council of Ministers.
These amendments further establish that every company incorporated in the state must have a place of residence there.