In an attempt to fight against fake goods sold via social networks, the Business Registration & Licensing (BRL) sector in the Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) has launched ‘e-Trader’. The e-Trader license can be registered under the name of a single owner only and the owner must be an Emirati or GCC citizen aged 18 or above.
This new license is introduced after DED revealed the closure of nearly 9,000 social media accounts for selling counterfeit goods in 2016.
Those holding an e-Trader license will not be permitted to open a physical store or issue visas. Omar Bushahab, the chief executive of the DED’s BRL department said that this new license will have “a significant role in promoting consumer confidence in shopping for products and services on social networking sites” and that the aim is “to promote and facilitate doing business in Dubai and introduce new solutions capable of contributing to economic development in Dubai, and the UAE in general.”
