How to verify a supplier in the UAE

Why it matters

Most supplier problems are not dramatic fraud. They are an expired licence, a company trading outside its licensed activities, VAT charged without a valid registration, or bank details changed by email. Each one can cost you money: VAT you cannot recover, a payment sent to the wrong account, or goods that fail an inspection. The checks below take less than an hour for a new supplier.

1. Check the trade licence

Every UAE business needs a trade licence, issued either by an emirate’s economic department (a mainland licence) or by a free zone authority. Ask for a copy, then check it yourself:

• Where: the UAE’s National Economic Register, run by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and free to search, for mainland licences. For a free zone company, check with the free zone authority that issued the licence.
• Legal name: exactly as on the quote, the invoice and the bank account.
• Licence number and status: active, not cancelled.
• Expiry date: licences are renewed, usually every year. Note the date.
• Activities: the licensed activities should cover what you are buying. A company licensed to trade foodstuffs should not be quoting for electrical installation.

If the supplier is in a free zone and you are on the mainland, ask how they will invoice and deliver to you. Depending on the activity, a free zone company may need a mainland distributor or a specific permit to sell onshore.

2. Check the VAT registration

A supplier registered for VAT has a Tax Registration Number (TRN): 15 digits, starting with 100. Check it with the Federal Tax Authority’s free TRN verification on EmaraTax; no login is needed. The legal name it returns should match the trade licence.

Businesses must register once their taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 a year, so a small supplier may legitimately have no TRN. An unregistered supplier must not charge VAT. If a quote adds 5% VAT, the invoice must be a proper tax invoice showing the supplier’s TRN, or you cannot recover that VAT. This is general information, not tax advice; check particular cases with your accountant.

3. Confirm the bank details

• Ask for the bank details on company letterhead, or for a letter from the bank.
• The account name should match the legal name on the licence. Be wary of payments to a personal account or to a company with a different name.
• A UAE IBAN has 23 characters and starts with AE.
• If a supplier emails new bank details, confirm them by phone on a number you already had, not one given in the email. Changed bank details are a common route for invoice fraud.

4. Check they are real and reliable

• Address: a real office or warehouse that matches the licence. For a large or ongoing contract, visit.
• References: speak to two current customers similar to you. Ask about on-time delivery, quality, and how problems were handled.
• Footprint: a website and email on the company’s own domain, a Google Maps listing, and staff on LinkedIn.
• Samples: where quality matters, get a sample and keep it as the standard for later deliveries.

5. Check the certificates you rely on

Only check what matters for what you are buying, but check it properly: look at the issuer, the scope and the expiry date, and confirm with the issuer if the order is large. Common examples:

• Quality management: ISO 9001.
• Food safety: HACCP or ISO 22000 for food and food-contact suppliers.
• Health and safety: ISO 45001 for suppliers working on your premises.
• Insurance: public liability insurance for suppliers who install or work on site.
• Product approvals: any conformity or safety approvals required for regulated products in the UAE.

Red flags

• The legal name differs between the licence, the quote, the invoice and the bank account.
• VAT charged with no TRN, or a TRN that returns a different name.
• Pressure to pay a large deposit quickly, or to pay a personal account.
• Bank details changed by email.
• A licence that has expired or does not cover the activity.
• No address, only a mobile number.
• Prices far below every other quote, with no clear reason.

Checklist

Keep a copy of each document with its expiry date, and check again when the licence renews.

Verified suppliers on Korrway

On the Korrway supplier network, suppliers upload their trade licence and TRN certificate, and Korrway reviews them before the supplier shows a Verified badge. Tiers from Bronze to Platinum then show how each supplier performs for buyers on Korrway: response rate, on-time delivery, awards and ratings. Verification checks documents, not performance, so the tier and your own experience matter as much as the badge.