A ticket sold in the United Arab Emirates carries no right to change your mind. The federal e-commerce law lists the cases in which a buyer can return something bought online, and "I've changed my mind" is not one of them. The other half of the issue weighs more: when the event does not take place, the consumer regulation requires you to refund the full price, any clause saying otherwise is void, and the penalty table sets a fine of 250,000 dirhams for breaching this.
Can a buyer in the UAE return a ticket because they change their mind?
No. Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2023, on trading by modern technological means, signed on 4 September 2023, governs returns in its article 7. Paragraph 1 recognises the right "to return or exchange the goods or services that have been purchased through modern technological means" in five cases: the goods or services breach applicable legislation; they arrive defective, incomplete, damaged or contrary to the merchant's description; late delivery makes them useless; they fail to meet the terms of the digital contract or those advertised; and any other case decided by the minister.
Change of mind does not appear. This is our reading of the article, not a statement from the Ministry of Economy: the UAE has no general right of withdrawal equivalent to the European one, however widely the idea of a fourteen-day period for everything bought online circulates. What exists is a closed list of grounds and, outside it, your terms of sale.
The scope does reach sellers based abroad. Article 2.1.b applies the decree to anyone carrying on commercial activity by technological means "inside the State or those received from outside it", digital payment gateways included. A Spanish promoter selling tickets for a concert in Dubai from their own website falls within its perimeter.
What must you refund if you cancel or postpone the event?
The full price, and the buyer makes the choice. Article 13.1 of Cabinet Decision No. 66 of 2023, the implementing regulation of the consumer protection law, requires the supplier to guarantee the service for a period consistent with its nature or the agreed period, "whichever is longer", and if the supplier fails to do so, "the consumer shall elect either of the following": a refund of the full price if the service is not provided or its provision is not fulfilled; a refund of the proportionate part for what was not enjoyed; or the proper re-performance of the service. The choice is not the organiser's.
The law says the same thing. Article 10.2 of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on consumer protection, dated 10 November 2020 and amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2023, requires the supplier to guarantee that their service is free of defects "within a period of time commensurate with the nature of that Service, otherwise he shall return the amount paid by the Consumer or a part thereof, or he shall re-perform the Service properly".
Postponement is the grey area. Article 29.1 of the regulation allows the service to be redone "in the agreed manner at the first time, without paying consideration or incurring any additional charges by the consumer", but paragraph 2 closes the door: if the supplier refuses, fails or delays, "the consumer shall be entitled to be refunded the full price paid". Moving a date is, in practice, offering re-performance; anyone who does not accept it keeps the right to their money.
Is a "no refund" clause in your terms valid?
It is not, and it also carries a fine. Article 21 of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 prohibits the supplier from including any condition that harms the consumer and adds that any condition "provided for in the contract or Invoice or otherwise that would exempt the Supplier from any of the obligations stipulated in this Law shall be deemed null and void".
The regulation develops this with a list. Article 34 declares void "each condition that relieves the supplier of their responsibility" and details fourteen cases. Four matter to anyone selling tickets: point 1, the clause that lets the supplier interpret or amend the contract or terminate it unilaterally; point 5, the one that lets them change the terms of the service on their own, unless they give notice and the change improves it or stems from a cause beyond their control; point 7, the one that cancels or limits the consumer's rights when the supplier is in breach; and point 11, with no beating about the bush, "not refunding the price of commodity or the consideration of service to the consumer".
The consequence is in annex 2 of the same regulation, the table of financial penalties: including a condition that harms the consumer, by reference to article 21 of the law, is 250,000 dirhams. Failing to guarantee the service for the period due to the consumer, under article 13 of the regulation, is another 250,000. And annex 1 sets out the scale: warning, fine (doubled for repeat offences), temporary closure from 24 hours to 90 days, suspension of activity and revocation of the licence. The criminal route stays open in parallel: article 29 of the law punishes breaches of articles 10 and 21 with up to two years in prison and a fine of between 10,000 and 2,000,000 dirhams.
It is worth translating that figure into your box office. A fine of 250,000 dirhams equals the gross takings from 833 tickets at 300 dirhams. The calculation is ours, but the order of magnitude explains why a set of terms copied from another market proves expensive here.
What is refunded in each scenario
| Scenario | Applicable rule | What the buyer expects | Deadline | Risk if you don't comply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Changes their mind | DL 14/2023, art. 7.1 | Nothing by law; only your terms | Whatever you write | Reputational |
| You cancel the event | CD 66/2023, art. 13.1.a | Full price, charges included | 10 days in Abu Dhabi | Fine of AED 250,000 |
| You postpone the date | CD 66/2023, arts. 29.1 and 29.2 | New date or full price | No federal deadline | Void clause and fine |
| The event is not as advertised | Law 15/2020, art. 10.2 | Full or partial refund, or re-performance | No federal deadline | Fine of AED 250,000 |
| "No refunds" in terms | Law 15/2020, art. 21; CD 66/2023, art. 34.11 | Clause void | Immediate | AED 250,000 and criminal route |
| Charge not announced at payment | DL 14/2023, arts. 14.3 and 15.3 | Only the advertised price | Immediate | AED 100,000 |
| Price drop after purchase | CD 66/2023, art. 31.3 | The price difference | 30 days from purchase | Consumer complaint |
| Ticket refunded and already invoiced | FDL 8/2017, arts. 61 and 62 | Corrected invoice | Tax Credit Note within 14 days | Late VAT adjustment |
Do you have to refund booking fees and the service charge?
If the buyer had to pay them, they form part of the price. Article 5 of the regulation requires the price of services to be displayed "clearly and legibly at the place of rendering the service" and, in paragraph 3, prohibits you to "add any further amounts on the value of commodity, if credit cards are used in the purchase of commodities and services": a surcharge for paying by credit card is not allowed. Article 32.c prohibits charging a price higher than the one advertised, with a penalty of 100,000 dirhams in the annex 2 table.
The e-commerce decree goes the same way from the other side. Its article 5.5 requires the digital merchant to determine and publish prices and "the fees and prices for logistics services and digital payment services", and articles 14.3 and 15.3 prohibit imposing on the consumer additional charges other than those announced in the digital contract. Between the two texts there is little room: anything not published before payment is not charged.
A practical conclusion follows, and it is our reading of the two rules together. If article 13.1.a speaks of "the full price" and the booking fee was mandatory to buy, a refund that keeps that fee does not return the full price. It is the same criterion that underpins any defensible ticket refund policy, applied to Emirati law.
What if you cut the price a week after going on sale?
Here is a rule almost nobody has read. Article 31.3 of the regulation requires the supplier to warn the consumer of any discounts it will offer "if the date fixed for the beginning of discounts is within one week from the date of purchase by the consumer", and adds the consequence: if the supplier fails to do so, "the consumer shall have the right to be refunded the difference of price within (30) thirty days from the date of purchase".
The text refers to goods and services, excluding none, and our reading is that a ticket sold at 400 dirhams that drops to 250 five days later fits the scenario. Across a batch of 200 buyers from that week, the difference of 150 dirhams per ticket adds up to 30,000 dirhams. The calculation is ours and the regulation does not mention events, but the risk is real for anyone who cuts prices in the last week of sales without notice.
The way to live with the rule is not to give up moving prices, but to organise them. A schedule of price tiers published from day one (prices go up, not down) keeps the surprise cut outside the article 31.3 scenario. If a discount is unavoidable, warning those who bought in those seven days beforehand costs one email and closes off the claim.
What happens to the 5% VAT when you refund the money?
You recover it, but with a deadline. Article 61.1 of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on VAT, in the consolidated version published by the Federal Tax Authority, requires the registrant to adjust the output tax after the date of supply "if the supply was cancelled", if the agreed consideration was altered, or if the recipient of the service returned it and was refunded, in whole or in part.
The mechanism and the clock are in article 62.2: when the tax calculated exceeds what should have been charged, the registrant "shall issue a Tax Credit Note… within 14 days from the date in which any of the situations provided for in Clause 1 of Article 61 of this Decree-Law took place". Article 63 confirms that this note reduces the issuer's output tax.
The numbers help show the detail. On a ticket of 300 dirhams with 5% included, the base is 285.71 dirhams and the tax is 14.29 (300 × 5 ÷ 105). If you refund the 300 and do not issue the credit note within fourteen days, you have returned the tax to the buyer and still have it declared. The tax deadline of fourteen days is also shorter than the thirty of article 31.3 and different from Abu Dhabi's ten: three clocks that do not coincide. On top of this come two open fronts in the country: the new composite supply rule in the VAT regulation, in force since 1 October 2026, and the timetable for mandatory e-invoicing, which article 65.5 of the decree-law itself anticipates by requiring those subject to the e-invoicing system to issue their invoices in that format.
What changes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi?
What changes is who watches you and with what deadline. In Dubai, Decree No. 25 of 2013 created the licensing and electronic ticketing system, requires subscribers to issue and distribute tickets through the system (article 10.3) and sets a fee of "ten percent (10%) of the actual or estimated value of a paid Ticket" (article 12.b). What it does not contain is a single line on refunds, cancellations or postponements: returns are governed by federal consumer rules and by your terms. Nor does the decree say what happens to that 10% fee when the event falls through, and that is a question for the department, not for the contract.
What Dubai does have is a table of fines. Executive Council Resolution No. 1 of 2015, of 3 February 2015, sets an annual subscription of 5,000 dirhams for organisers and for ticket sellers, 10,000 for connection to the system, a fine of 10,000 for selling tickets without an electronic code or through an entity not subscribed to the system, 10,000 for reselling used tickets and 2,000 for distributing them without authorisation. Article 2.b doubles the fine for repeat offences within the same year, capped at 100,000 dirhams. The permits and fees of each emirate are covered in the guide to permits and VAT for selling tickets in the UAE.
Abu Dhabi is the only one of the two that sets a deadline for refunds. Section 4.8 of the Department of Culture and Tourism's event licensing manual, version 1 of 2024, makes the ticket seller responsible for the full refund "within ten (10) days of the cancellation date of the Event". We say this with a traceability caveat: that official PDF could not be opened from our side today because of a server certificate problem, and the quotation comes from our check of 3 October 2026. Before writing it into your terms, confirm it with the DCT.
Where does the buyer complain if you don't refund them?
To the economic department of their emirate, and the government itself publishes the map. The official UAE portal refers buyers to ADDED in Abu Dhabi, the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai and the economic development departments of Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah, as well as the Ministry of Economy's 800 1222 line and the consumerrights.ae portal. Article 35 of the regulation requires the competent authority to register the complaint, decide on it and respond.
There is a second channel, and it is yours. Article 35 of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020, as worded in 2023, gives fifteen working days to challenge in writing a decision or measure taken against you, thirty days for them to reply, and treats silence as rejection. And the e-commerce decree adds in its article 9 a dispute resolution committee and a limitation worth checking in your terms: a digital contract worth less than 50,000 dirhams "may not include a condition to refer disputes arising from it to arbitration". An arbitration clause in a ticket purchase does not hold up.
That leaves the route that goes through no Emirati rule: the chargeback. It is a card-scheme procedure, not a legal right, and it works to its own deadlines and evidence requirements. If your reply to a complaint takes longer than the issuer's deadline, the bank makes the decision.
And Futura Tickets: what should you demand from the platform?
Three concrete things, all derived from the above. First, that the refund goes out by the same method the money came in and is recorded with a date, because Abu Dhabi's ten-day deadline and the credit note's fourteen are counted in calendar days. Second, that you can notify every buyer in a specific batch: article 31.3 obliges you to track down whoever bought in the seven days before a discount. With Futura Tickets the attendee database is 100% the organiser's, with complete emails and phone numbers, which is exactly what makes that notice possible without depending on anyone. Third, that the checkout takes payment the way your audience pays: Futura Tickets accepts card, Bizum, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, Bancontact, MobilePay, EPS and iDEAL, and processes payments through three active gateways: Stripe, Redsys and PayPal. For cases where the buyer cannot attend and there is no right to a refund, in Futura Tickets' official resale the organiser sets the price cap (for example, 110% of face value) and earns a commission on every resale: a waiting list with official resale resolves a good share of those cases without refunds. What no platform should promise you is Emirati tax compliance without showing you the paperwork: the issuing of the Tax Credit Note and the invoice format are things to check, not assume.
Checklist before selling tickets in the UAE
Seven checks, all before the first ticket is sold.
Remove the "no refunds" from your terms. Article 34.11 of the regulation cites it by name and article 21 of the law declares it void. Writing it does not protect you and does expose you to 250,000 dirhams.
Write down what happens if you cancel and how quickly. The right to choose between money and re-performance belongs to the buyer (article 13.1), and in Abu Dhabi the refund has a ten-day deadline.
Build mandatory charges into the advertised price. Articles 14.3 and 15.3 of Decree-Law No. 14 of 2023 prohibit charging anything not published, and article 5.3 of the regulation prohibits the surcharge for paying by credit card.
Publish the price schedule before opening sales. It is the clean way to avoid the price-difference refund of article 31.3 when the price drops in the last week.
Tie down the credit note process. Fourteen days from cancellation or refund, under article 62.2 of the VAT decree-law. If one person handles the refund and another the invoice, settle who tells whom.
Review the arbitration clause. Below 50,000 dirhams it cannot be imposed, under article 9.2.b of the e-commerce decree.
Have your terms in Arabic too. Article 26 of the law requires that information, advertisements and contracts aimed at the consumer be in Arabic, and the invoice too, under article 8.4. The penalty table sets 100,000 dirhams for each of the two breaches.
Conclusion
The Emirati framework is comfortable on one point and severe on the rest. There is no right of withdrawal for change of mind, so a ticket sold is sold as long as the event takes place as advertised. In return, the law does not let you shield yourself by contract: the "no refund" clause is void, the full price includes mandatory charges, a price drop has retroactive effects for one week, and the tax is adjusted within fourteen days. All of this is resolved before opening sales, in the terms document and in the platform configuration. And it is worth closing off at the same time as the other two fronts in the same market: the permits and 5% VAT of selling tickets in the UAE and the obligations on buyer data under the PDPL, which govern the cancellation notice you will have to send.
Sources
- Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection, consolidated with Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2023 (Ministry of Economy and Tourism, PDF)
- Cabinet Decision No. 66/2023, implementing regulation of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020, with its penalty annexes (Ministry of Economy and Tourism, PDF)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2023 on Trading by Modern Technological Means (Ministry of Economy and Tourism, PDF)
- Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on Value Added Tax and its amendments, arts. 61 to 65 (Federal Tax Authority, PDF)
- Consolidated UAE tax legislation (Federal Tax Authority)
- Decree No. (25) of 2013 Concerning the Event eLicensing and eTicketing System in the Emirate of Dubai (Dubai Legislation)
- Executive Council Resolution No. (1) of 2015, fees and fines of the Dubai eTicketing system (Dubai Legislation)
- Consumer protection: competent authorities by emirate and complaint channels (official UAE Government portal, accessed 19 October 2026)
- Event Licensing Manual, version 1 of 2024, section 4.8 (Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, PDF)
- Event Licensing System of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi