The UAE Federal Tax Authority issued FTA Decision No. 7 of 2025 on 16 July 2025, setting out how a Tax Group must prepare, audit and file special-purpose financial statements under the Corporate Tax regime. It applies to tax periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025, and it tells a group exactly what documents the group as a whole has to produce, not just its individual companies.
Key takeaways
- FTA Decision No. 7 of 2025 was issued on 16 July 2025 and applies to tax periods commencing on or after 1 January 2025.
- Every Tax Group must prepare Aggregated Financial Statements: special-purpose accounts built by combining the standalone statements of the parent and each subsidiary in the group.
- The aggregated statements must be audited in line with International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and prepared under a special-purpose framework.
- They must reach the FTA within nine months of the end of the relevant tax period, unless the Authority sets a different deadline.
- A complete set contains four statements: financial position, profit or loss, other comprehensive income, and changes in equity.
- A member leaving the group must carry the group's existing book values of assets and liabilities forward as its opening balances.
What are Aggregated Financial Statements?
Aggregated Financial Statements are one set of accounts that a Tax Group builds by combining the standalone statements of the parent and every subsidiary into a single view of the group as one taxable person. A Tax Group files a single Corporate Tax return, but each company inside it still keeps its own books, and Decision No. 7 fills the gap between those two facts.
Special-purpose accounts are prepared specifically to support the group's tax filing rather than as ordinary general-purpose company accounts. The practical consequence is that a group cannot simply hand the FTA the parent's own audited financials or a stack of separate subsidiary accounts. It must produce a distinct, group-level document and stand behind the method used to assemble it.
What does a complete set look like, and when is it due?
A complete set contains four audited statements — financial position, profit or loss, other comprehensive income, and changes in equity — and it must reach the FTA within nine months of the end of the relevant tax period, unless the Authority sets a different deadline. The table below sets out the full contents and timing.
| Element | Requirement under Decision No. 7 |
|---|---|
| Form of statements | Aggregated Financial Statements combining the parent and each subsidiary in the Tax Group |
| Audit | Audited in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA), under a special-purpose framework |
| Complete set | Statement of financial position; statement of profit or loss; statement of other comprehensive income; statement of changes in equity |
| Filing deadline | Within nine months of the end of the relevant tax period, or an alternative deadline set by the FTA |
Nine months is the same window that applies to filing the Corporate Tax return itself, so in practice the audited aggregated statements and the return are prepared on one timeline. A group with a calendar tax year ending 31 December 2025 would therefore be working toward a filing point around the end of September 2026.
The four required statements together give the FTA a rounded picture of the group. The statement of financial position shows what the group owns and owes at the period end; the statement of profit or loss shows how it performed over the year; the statement of other comprehensive income captures gains and losses that bypass profit or loss; and the statement of changes in equity reconciles the movement in the group's net worth. A set missing any one of these four is incomplete for the purposes of Decision No. 7, so a group cannot treat the requirement as satisfied by a single summary schedule.
Aggregated Financial Statements are not the same as a company's own audited accounts. They are a separate, special-purpose set that the group must build, audit and file within nine months of its tax period end.
What must the statements disclose?
Because the numbers are assembled rather than lifted straight from one company's ledger, the FTA wants to see the workings. Decision No. 7 requires the statements to disclose the basis and framework used to prepare them, the aggregation methodology, and the key accounting policies, estimates and judgments applied, together with supporting notes and explanations.
The preparation framework itself has to address the basis of aggregation, the applicable accounting standards, any special adjustments and exceptions, the treatment of investments, and the financial metrics used. The reason is straightforward: two groups could combine the same underlying companies in different ways, so the Authority needs the methodology spelled out to check that the group's taxable result is built on a consistent and defensible basis.
What happens when a member leaves the group?
Decision No. 7 also deals with the moment a subsidiary exits a Tax Group. The departing entity must adopt the Tax Group's carrying values of its assets and liabilities as its opening balances going forward. If the applicable accounting standards do not permit the entity to book those exact values, its taxable income must still be computed as if those carrying values had been used.
The effect is continuity of the tax base. Without this rule, an exiting company could reset the value of its assets on the way out and distort the depreciation or gains it reports afterwards. By forcing the group's carrying values to carry over, the Decision keeps the tax cost of assets consistent across the transition and removes a potential planning gap.
Frequently asked questions
What is FTA Decision No. 7 of 2025?
FTA Decision No. 7 of 2025 is a Federal Tax Authority decision, issued on 16 July 2025, that requires UAE Tax Groups to prepare, audit and submit Aggregated Financial Statements under the Corporate Tax regime. It applies to tax periods commencing on or after 1 January 2025 and specifies the framework, disclosures, required statements and filing deadline.
Which businesses must prepare Aggregated Financial Statements?
Any Tax Group under UAE Corporate Tax. The group combines the standalone financial statements of the parent and each subsidiary into a single special-purpose set. Individual companies that are not part of a Tax Group follow their own reporting obligations rather than this aggregation requirement.
When are a Tax Group's aggregated financial statements due?
They must be submitted to the FTA within nine months of the end of the relevant tax period, unless the Authority prescribes an alternative deadline. For a group with a 31 December year-end, that points to the end of September the following year.
Do Aggregated Financial Statements need to be audited?
Yes. Decision No. 7 requires them to be audited in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and prepared under a special-purpose framework. An unaudited or general-purpose set does not meet the requirement.
What happens to a subsidiary that leaves a UAE Tax Group?
A departing subsidiary must adopt the Tax Group's carrying values of assets and liabilities as its opening balances. If accounting standards do not allow those values to be recorded, taxable income is still calculated as though they had been, preserving continuity of the tax base.
How SBC Tax Consulting can help
Meeting Decision No. 7 is as much an accounting exercise as a tax one. Our corporate tax advisory team helps groups design a defensible aggregation methodology, document the preparation framework, and align the filing with the nine-month deadline. We coordinate with your auditors on the audit and assurance side and can streamline group reporting through tax and finance automation. For tailored guidance on your group structure, contact our team or explore our FAQ hub.
This publication is for general information only and does not constitute professional advice. Please consult your SBC advisor before acting on any matter covered here.