Federal Decree-Law No. (43) of 2021 On the Goods Subject to Non-Proliferation (security and safety law)

Article (1)  
Definitions  
For the purpose of applying the provisions hereof, the following words and expressions shall 
denote the meanings assigned thereto respectively, unless the context requires otherwise:   
Federal Decree- Law No. ( 43) of 2021 o n the Goods Subject to Non -Proliferation  2 
 State  : The UAE.  
Competent Entity  : The entity designated and regulated under a cabinet resolution 
based on the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and 
International Cooperation.  
 Entities 
Concerned  : The federal or local entity having the authority over the 
circulation of the goods that are subject to this Decree -Law.  
Non -Proliferation  : The prohibition of illegal and unauthorized circulation of goods 
that are involved in the production or development of weapons 
of mass destruction, the technology associated thereto and their 
means of delivery.  
Goods/ Item of 
goods  
 : The materials, systems, equipment, components, software or 
technology listed in the Goods Schedule.  
 Goods Schedule  : The goods schedule to be issued under a resolution of the 
Cabinet.  
 Circulation of 
Goods  : The import, export, re -export, trans -shipment, in -transit shipping 
or transportation between ports or brokerage activities, whether 
carried out by a natural or legal person.  
Import  
 : Bringing the item of goods into the State through customs ports 
or free zones.  
 Export  : Taking the item of goods out of the State, including goods 
produced in the free zones through customs ports.  
Re-export  
 : Exporting the pre -imported goods through the customs ports of 
the State or free zones, including the return of the item of goods 
to the country of origin.  
In-transit shipping  
 : The entry and subsequent exit of the goods loaded on a means 
of transport at a customs port in the State, without unloading the 
item of goods from the means of transport, while remaining 
under customs control.  
 Transshipment  : The transit of the goods loaded on a means of transport at a  
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 customs port in the State by unloading them from the means of 
transport and loading them into another means of transport for 
the purpose of shipping them outside the State, while remaining 
under customs control.  
Transportation 
between ports  
 : The transportation of goods loaded on a means of transport from 
a customs port to another inside the State without opening the 
shipment, while remaining under customs control.  
Permit  : The prior authorization for circulating the goods set out in Article 
(2) hereof.  
Beneficiary  : The natural or legal person who applies for the permit.  
Means of 
Transport  : Any land, sea or air transportation means.  
Technology  
 : Specific informatio n necessary for the development, production 
or use of goods, in the form of technical data that is embedded or 
integrated into schemes, designs, plans, graphs, models, 
equations, tables or engineering designs, or embedded or 
integrated into details, manuals, or instructions written or 
recorded on a device.  
 Document  : Any document, record, or part of either of them, whether in 
paper or electronic form preserved on a magnetic, optical or 
chemical means, or a photograph, map, scheme, chart, picture or 
drawing.  
Device  : Any tangible medium that records, stores or embodies a 
technology, through which the information or data contained 
therein could be retrieved or produced, with or without other 
equipment.  
 Relevant Activity  : Any practices aimed at creating, developing, producing, handling, 
operating, maintaining, storing, deploying or using any weapon, 
including nuclear, chemical, biological or radiological weapons, 
missiles equipped with such weapons, or any other activity  
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 related to the weapons of mass destruction.  
Weapons of Mass 
Destruction  : Weapons capable of inflicting substantial harm upon a large 
group of people and threatening life and natural environment 
through their catastrophic effects, such as nuclear, biological, 
chemical and radiological weapons.  
Comprehensive 
Seizure  
 : The seizure of a item of goods that is not listed in the Goods 
Schedule due to suspicions about its use or the end user, or 
because it is included in the national or international lists of bans 
or penalties.  
 Brokerage  : Mediation between the seller and the buyer with the aim of 
facilitating a business deal in return for an agreed benefit or fee.

Article (2)  
Applicability  
The provisions of this Decree -Law shall apply to the entire territory of the State, including 
the free zones, as well as the following goods:  
1. Goods included in a cabinet resolution.  
2. Goods listed in accordance with the Security Council resolutions.  
The Cabinet Resolution referred to in this Article shall enter into force of the day following 
the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article (3)  
Prohibiting or Restricting the Circulation of Goods  
Without prejudice to the competencies of the Entities Concerned and subject to the legislation in force in the State and the international agreements ratified by the State, the 
Competent Entity may prohibit or restrict the circulation of any of the goods stipulated in 
article (2) hereof, as determined by the Executive Regulations of this Decree -Law.  
  
  
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Article (4)  
Permit Issuance Conditions  
Without prejudice to the obligat ions imposed by the legislation in force in the State and the 
relevant international agreements ratified by the State, the competent entity shall issue a 
permit for the beneficiary in accordance with the following conditions:  
1. The permit shall be compatible with the licensed activity of the beneficiary.  
2. The end user shall obtain permission or permit from the competent authorities in the 
country receiving the item of goods in accordance with the latter's legislation, if 
necessary.  
3. The beneficiary shall submit any information or data related to the course of the item of 
goods if it passes through more than one country.  
4. Any other conditions specified by the Executive Regulations of this Decree -Law.

Article (5)  
Permit Application Submission Controls  
The permit application shall be submitted to the competent entity in accordance with the categories, procedures, terms, and forms described in the Executive Regulations of this 
Decree- Law.

Article (6)  
Permit Usage Controls  
1. Without prejudice to the requirements of the Entities Concerned, the permit shall be 
issued in the name of the beneficiary, and may only be used within the extent permitted. 
It may neither be assigned nor transferred to Third Parties without a new permit in 
accordance with the provisions of this Decree -Law and its Executive Regulations.  
2. The permit holder may not act or hand over to a third party any item of goods set out in 
article (2) hereof except by virtue of a new permit from the competent entity, as 
described in the Executive Regulations of this Decree -Law.  
   
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Article (7)  
Permit Revocation Cases  
1. The competent entity may revoke the permit in any of the following cases:  
a. If it is established that the circulation of the item of goods for which the permit has 
been granted is detrimental to safety, public health, environment, natural resources 
or national security.  
b. If the circulation of the goods for which the permit has been issued is prohibited or 
restricted.  
c. If the permit is used for any purpose other than the intended purpose thereof.  
d. If the permit is issued based on fraud, misinterpretation or documents or information 
contrary to the facts.  
e. If the permit issued in the name of a particular holder is used by a different person.  
f. If the permit holder is listed on the international ban or sanctions lists.  
2. The permit shall be considered revoked if any deletion or alteration occurs to it.

Article (8)  
Grievance against the Competent Entity's Resolutions  
Grievances may be filed against the competent entity's resolutions issued in implementation of the provisions of this Decree -Law and its Executive Regulations, not later than (7) seven 
working days of the date of becoming aware of the resolution in question, in accordance 
with the procedures described in the Executive Regulations of this Decree -Law. The 
resolution issued on the grievance shall be final, and the Grievant shall be notified of it. In all 
cases, the action filed with the court to revoke the resolution may only be admitted after a grievance has been filed.

Article (9)  
Prohibited Acts  
1. No person may carry out any of the following acts unless and until a permit is obtained beforehand:   
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 a. Circulate any of the goods stipulated in article (2) hereof.  
b. Deliver, transfer, publish, leak or share any document or device related to any of the 
goods stipulated in article (2) hereof.  
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Clause (1) of this Article, it shall be prohibited for any 
person to circulate any item of goods listed in the Goods Schedule, or to transport, 
deliver, transfer, publish, leak or share any document or device related to any of such 
goods, in the following cases:  
a. If such a person has been notified by the competent entity that the underlying item 
of goods, document or device will be involved or likely to be involved, in whole or in 
part, in an activity related to any of the goods mentioned in article (2) hereof.  
b. If the person is aware that the underlying item of goods, document or device will be involved or likely to be involved, in whole or in part, in an activity related to any of 
the goods mentioned in article (2) hereof.  
c. Any other cases described in the Executive Regulations of this Decree -Law.

Article (10)  
Exceptions to article (9)  
The following two cases shall be excluded from the scope of the provisions of article (9) 
hereof:  
1. If the information or documents are shared at the request of the judicial authorities in 
the State.  
2. If the information or documents are shared so as to enable a foreign government to 
investigate or prosecute a foreign person in its country for a crime committed on its 
territory, and such crime is related to any of the goods mentioned in article (2) hereof or 
any of its documents, subject to the legislation in force in the State and according to the following conditions:  
a. A decision shall be issued by the competent entity allowing the sharing of such information or documents.  
b. Such information or documents may only be used for the purpose of investigation or 
trial for which they have been requested.   
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 c. The foreign government undertakes not to violate the sovereignty, security or any 
vital interests of the State, and to abide by any condition set by the State for the use 
of such information or documents.

Article (11)  
Prohibited Agreements and Contracts  
It shall be prohibited for any person to carry out brokerage, negotiation or any other act to 
facilitate the conclusion of the following contracts:  
1. Contracts of ownership or disposition related to any of the following goods, if the person 
knows or has good grounds to suspect that the contract will lead or is likely to lead to the transfer of goods from one country to another:  
a. The goods mentioned in article (2) hereof.  
b. The goods notified in writing to the person by the competent entity that they will be 
used or are likely to be used, in whole or in part, in an activity related to the weapons 
of mass destruction.  
c. Goods the person knows that they will be involved, in whole or in part, in an activity related to the weapons of mass destruction.  
d. Goods for which the person has reasonable grounds to suspect that they will be 
involved or are likely to be involved, in whole or in part, in an activity related to the 
weapons of mass destruction.  
2. Contracts of ownership, disposition or publication of any document, device or 
technology related to the following goods, if the person knows or has good grounds to 
suspect that the contract will lead or is likely to lead to the transfer of the technology, 
document or device from one country to another:  
a. Goods mentioned in article (2) hereof.  
b. Goods that are covered by a notice served in writing to the person by the competent 
entity indicating that they will be involved or are likely to be involved, in whole or in part, in an activity related to the weapons of mass destruction.  
c. Goods which the person knows that they will be involved, in whole or in part, in an activity related to the weapons of mass destruction.   
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Article (12)  
Exceptions to article (11)  
The following shall be excluded from the scope of article (11) hereof:  
1. Any act that occurs by a person holding a permit from the competent entity, and is 
related to any of the goods mentioned in article (2) hereof.  
2. Any act that has been approved by the competent entity in relation to any of the goods 
stipulated in Paragraphs (B, C, D) of Clause (1) of article (11) hereof, or is related to any 
technology, document or device in accordance with Clause (2) of article (11) hereof.

Article (13)  
Obligations of the Permit Holder  
The permit holder shall:  
1. Maintain the records related to the permit, as specified by the Executive Regulations of this Decree- Law.  
2. Provid e the competent entity with any documents or information it requests in respect 
of the permit and the method or manner for using it,  
3. Present the records and any documents or papers kept whenever requested to do so by 
the competent entity or the judicial officer, provided that the same is documented in the 
records, documents or papers that have been reviewed.

Article (14)  
Seizure of Goods  
The competent entity may seize any item of goods not listed in the Goods Schedule whenever it has sufficient evidence to suspect that it is being used for a related activity or 
that the end user is included in the lists of national or international sanctions. The Executive 
Regulations of this Decree shall determine the rules and controls for implementing the 
provisions of this Article, including the provisions related to the comprehensive seizure and 
inspection, in coordination with the Entities Concerned.   
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Article (15)  
Controls for Circulating Restricted and Hazardous Items  
Without prejudice to the legislation in force in the State, the competent Entity shall issue a 
permit for the circulation of the restricted items, which are listed in the Goods Schedule, 
from the Weapons and Hazardous Substances Office, based upon the application submitted 
by the licensing entity of the business, in accordance with the controls and procedures 
specified by the executive regulations of this Decree -Law.

Article (16)  
Reporting Illegal Trade in Goods  
The competent entity may decide that a financial reward be disbursed to anyone who reports or provides information about the illegal trade in the goods subject to this 
Decree- Law, whenever his report leads to its disclosure, in accordance with the rules and 
controls laid down by a resolution of the Cabinet, based on a proposal from the competent 
entity.

Article (17)  
Penalties  
The imposition of the penalties stipulated herein shall not prejudice any more severe 
penalty stipulated in any other law.

Article (18) 
1. A penalty of imprisonment for a period of not less than one year and / or a fine of not less than (AED 100,000) one hundred thousand dirhams and not more than (AED 
1,000,000) one million dirhams, shall be imposed on any person who commits any of 
the following acts:  
a. Violates any of the provisions of Articles (9) and (11) hereof.  
b. Provides false or misleading information or documents containing false or incorrect 
data in order to obtain a permit.   
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 c. Forges or modifies the permit.  
2. The acts stipulated in item (1) of this Article are considered crimes against the security of 
the State.  
3. The penalty shall be doubled in case of recidivism.  
4. In the event of conviction, the court shall decide to confiscate the goods involved in the 
crime.  
5. The court shall order the deportation of the foreigner after the execution of the sentence 
imposed on him.

Article (19) 
Whoever violates the provisions of article (13) hereof shall be punished with a fine of not less than (AED 50,000) fifty thousand dirhams and not more than (AED 200,000) two 
hundred thousand dirhams.

Article (20) 
1. Every legal person whose representative, manager or agent commits for its benefit or in 
its name any of the crimes stipulated herein shall be punished with a fine of not less than 
(AED 200,000) two hundred thousand dirhams and not more than (AED 2,000,000) two 
million dirhams.  
2. If the legal person is convicted, the court may decide to dissolve or close it down either 
permanently or temporarily, or to close down any of its branches.

Article (21) 
The attempt to commit any of the crimes stipulated in Item (1) of article (18) hereof shall be 
punished with the full punishment for the crime.

Article (22)  
Relief from Penalties  
Any person who informs the judicial or administrative authorities of his knowledge of the  
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 crime before the execution of any of the offences set forth herein, and which leads to 
detecting the crime before its occurrence or prevents it from being completed, shall be 
relieved from the penalties stipulated herein.  
If the report occurs after the detection of the offence, he may be relieved from the penalty in 
whole or in part, if the offender enables the competent authorities, during the investigation, 
to arrest the other crime perpetrators.

Article (23)  
Judiciary Police  
The employees of the competent entity who are designated by a resolution of the Minister 
of Justice, in agreement with the competent entity, shall have the capacity of judicial officers 
for detecting the violations of the provisions of this Decree -Law, its executive regulations 
and the decisions issued in implementation thereof, within the scope of their respective competences.

Article (24)  
Administrative Penalties and Violations  
1. The competent entity may impose any of the following administrative penalties on the 
permit holder in case that he violates any of the provisions of this Decree -Law, its 
Executive Regulations or the decisions issued in implementation thereof:  
a. Warning.  
b. Revocation of the permit.  
c. An administrative fine of not less than (AED 50,000) fifty thousand dirhams and not more than (AED 200,000) two hundred thousand dirhams.  
d. Doubling the administrative fine when repeating the violation, provided that it does 
not exceed (AED 400,000) four hundred thousand dirhams.  
e. Permanent or temporary closure for a period not exceeding six months, after 
coordination with the Entities Concerned.  
2. None of the penalties provided for in Clause (1) of this Article shall be imposed unless and until the offender or his legal representative has been heard and his defence has  
Federal Decree- Law No. ( 43) of 2021 o n the Goods Subject to Non -Proliferation  13 
 been investigated in writing. If he has not been present, or if he is present but has not 
shown any defence, the sanction may be imposed based on the papers established in the 
file. 
3. The imposition of the penalties stipulated herein shall not prejudice the imposition of 
any of the administrative penalties stipulated in Paragraph (1) of this Article.  
4. Based on the proposal of the competent entity, the cabinet may:  
a. Amend the value of the administrative penalties set out in this Article.  
b. Issue a table of the administrative violations and sanctions imposed according to this 
Article.

Article (25)  
Confiscation of Goods  
The competent entity may confiscate the violating goods that are seized, in coordination 
with the entities concerned, in the event that their owners fail to apply for their recovery, 
flee or are unknown, and may dispose of them in accordance with the procedures and 
controls described in the executive regulations of this Decree -Law.

Article (26)  
Collecting a Percentage of the Proceeds of Confiscated Goods  
The Cabinet may, based upon the proposal of the competent entity and after coordination 
with the Ministry of Finance, issue a resolution to collect a percentage of the proceeds of the 
sale of the violating goods that are seized by such entity, and for which a federal judicial 
order or decision on confiscating the same has been issued. The resolution shall specify the percentage that shall devolve to such entity and the manner and requirements for the 
disposition of the same.  
The competent entity may agree with the entity concerned in any of the emirates of the State to transfer a percentage of the proceeds of the sale of goods for which a judgment is issued 
for confiscating the same from the courts of the emirate concerned, in accordance with the 
provisions hereof, whenever the seizure process was carried out through the competent 
entity or based on its contributions.   
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Article (27)  
Amendment of the Goods Schedule  
The Cabinet or its designee may amend the goods schedule referred to herein, whether by 
addition, deletion or replacement.

Article (28)  
Fees  
The Cabinet shall issue a resolution determining the fees necessary to implement the provisions hereof.

Article (29)  
Executive Regulations  
The Cabinet shall issue the executive regulations of this Decree -Law.

Article (30)  
Repeals  
1. Federal Law No. (13) of 2007 Concerning Goods Subject to Import and Export Control 
shall be repealed.  
2. Any provision that contradicts or goes against the provisions hereof shall be repealed.  
3. The Committee for Goods Subject to Import and Export Control established in accordance with Federal Law No. (13) of 2007  referred to, and the Executive Office 
thereof shall continue to exercise their powers until a Cabinet resolution is issued 
specifying the competent entity, so that the Committee and the Executive Office shall 
both be abolished upon the issuance of the aforementioned Cabinet resolution.  
4. The competent entity shall, after the issuance of the Cabinet resolution, shall replace the Committee for Goods Subject to Import and Export Control and the Executive Office thereof in respect of all competences, legislation, rights, and financial and legal 
obligations. All of their assets and property shall be transferred to such entity.  
5. The regulations and decisions issued prior to the implementation of the provisions of the  
Federal Decree- Law No. ( 43) of 2021 o n the Goods Subject to Non -Proliferation  15 
 present Decree shall continue to be in full force and effect, without conflicting with its 
provisions, until the regulations and decisions that replace them are issued in 
accordance with the provisions hereof.

Article (31)  
Publication and Entry into Force  
This Decree -Law shall be published in the Official Gazette, and shall enter into force as of 
the 2nd of January of 2022.  
 
  
Khalifah Bin Zayed Al Nahyn  
President of the UAE,  
 
Issued by Us at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi:  
On: 13 Safar 1443 AH.  
Corresponding to: 20 September 2021 AD .