Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does a retail sale via mail order or internet business do?
It sells products to customers who order remotely, by website, app, catalogue, mail, or phone, with goods delivered or, for digital products, downloaded.
2. What channels does this activity cover?
Internet and mail-order sales of any product, direct sale via television, radio, and telephone, and internet retail auctions where buyers bid online.
3. Can this activity sell digital products?
Yes. Products ordered over the internet can either be delivered physically or, for digital goods, downloaded directly by the customer.
4. How is this different from other non-store retail?
This activity covers remote ordering by internet, mail, phone, or broadcast. Door-to-door selling and vending machines fall under a separate non-store retail activity.
5. Does this activity need approval or AML registration?
No. This activity requires no third-party approval and is exempt from AML compliance requirements, making it straightforward to set up.
How to Start a Retail Sale via Mail Order Houses or via Internet Business with Meydan Free Zone
A customer sees something on a website, in a catalogue, or in a late-night TV slot, places the order, and the product arrives a day or two later. On the other side of that order sits the actual business: a seller with stock, a way to reach buyers remotely, and a system to fulfil and ship every order without ever opening a shop.
Retail sale via mail order houses or via the internet is that business, the distance-selling model, now mostly online.
The conditions for selling at a distance are about as good as they get in the UAE. Internet penetration is close to 99 percent and the country has around 11 million users, according to DataReportal¹, so almost every potential customer is already online.
And they are buying: e-commerce is on track to make up nearly 13 percent of all retail sales in the UAE, according to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce². A business selling by internet or mail order is reaching a market that is both fully connected and increasingly comfortable buying without a shop.
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This activity is distance selling: the customer chooses from an advert, catalogue, or website and orders remotely. In a near-fully-connected country, the addressable market is effectively everyone.
Sources: DataReportal (2026); Dubai Chamber via Gulf News (2022).
A retail sale via mail order or internet business sells to customers who order at a distance. The customer chooses from a website, an app, a catalogue, or an advert, and places the order by internet, phone, or mail; the product is then delivered or, for digital goods, downloaded. I
t is a retail business defined by how the sale happens, remotely, rather than by what it sells. Online shoppers, catalogue buyers, and even television and radio audiences all become its customers.
The demand follows the simple fact that ordering remotely is now normal. A connected population buys by app and website as a matter of routine, and the same model extends to mail order, telephone ordering, and direct sale via television and radio.
Internet retail auctions sit here too, where buyers bid online rather than in a saleroom. With almost the entire population reachable online and e-commerce taking a steadily larger share of retail, a distance-selling business is not chasing demand; it is meeting a habit the market has already formed.
From websites and apps to catalogues, TV slots, and online auctions, the UAE rewards distance sellers who can turn an advert into an order and an order into a delivery.
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Who is this for?
- Online and catalogue retailers: Businesses selling products to customers who order by internet or mail.
- Direct-response sellers: Sellers using television, radio, or telephone to take direct orders.
- Internet auction operators: Businesses running retail auctions where buyers bid online.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a mail order or internet retail business reaching a near-universal online market.
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4791.00 - Retail Sale via Mail Order Houses or via Internet
Under this activity, you are licensed to carry out retail sales via mail order houses or via the Internet, where the customer chooses a product from an advertisement, catalogue, website, or other means and places an order by mail, phone, or Internet.
There are clear boundaries on this activity. It covers selling where the customer orders remotely, by Internet, mail, phone, or in response to a broadcast. It is distinct from other non-store retail such as door-to-door selling and vending machines, which fall under their own activity, and from store-based retail, where the customer buys in person.
The line is precise. If your business sells to customers who order by Internet, mail, phone, or in response to an advert, you are in. If you sell door-to-door, through vending machines, or in a physical store, a different activity applies.
Third-Party Approval
No third-party approval is required for this business activity.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Citations
¹ DataReportal. Digital 2025: The United Arab Emirates. DataReportal, February 2025.
² Dubai Chamber of Commerce, reported by Gulf News. UAE E-Commerce Market Forecast to Reach $9.2 Billion by 2026. Gulf News.
