Licensable activity
Logistics & warehousing
Moving and holding goods on behalf of others. Freight forwarding, warehousing, distribution, courier services, customs clearance and supply-chain management.
Classification
How it is coded.
UAE activity lists derive from ISIC Revision 4, the United Nations industrial classification. Each emirate's economic department and each free zone then extends that base with its own numbering, so the same activity carries a different code in Dubai than it does in Sharjah or inside DMCC.
- ISIC Rev. 4
- Section H — Transportation and storage (divisions 49–53)
- Licence category
- Commercial
- Regulator
- No sector regulator — the licensing authority is the only approval, unless a specific product or premises triggers one.
Approvals beyond the licence
- Land transport
- The emirate transport authority — RTA in Dubai, ITC in Abu Dhabi — for owned fleet operations.
- Customs brokerage
- A separate customs broker registration, distinct from the trade licence.
- Cold chain
- Municipality approval where food or pharmaceutical storage is involved.
In practice
Port and airport adjacency is the whole economics of this sector. JAFZA, Dubai South, DAFZA, KEZAD and SAIF Zone all exist to put your warehouse next to the cargo, and the rent differential between them is large.
Coverage
Where it can be licensed.
Of the 40 licensing authorities across the UAE, 11 issue licences covering this activity, spread across 6 of the seven emirates.