RWA tokenisation company in Dubai: licence

Real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation is the blockchain application that draws the most institutional interest — and the most delicate one to license, because the line between the digital record and the investment product is thin and expensive to cross. The official list solves it with an unusual approach: instead of one generic activity, it publishes ten tokenisation entries, one per asset class, all with the same architecture — record, utility and RWA tokens that are expressly non-security.

All ten belong to the official activity list of RAK DAO / Innovation City, the Ras Al Khaimah free zone specialised in digital assets and Web3, and they share a high risk rating and the same additional cost. This guide orders them by asset class, explains what each one allows — and the common limit none of them crosses — and closes with taxation and the steps.

The ten activities: general map

The economics are identical across all ten: high risk and AED 193,399 of additional cost per activity on top of the licence — the highest amount in the list, to be confirmed with the authority before budgeting. The regulator’s message is consistent: tokenising real-world assets is the most scrutinised activity in the catalogue, even in its non-security version.

The activities by family

Supply chain and traceability

The agri (S-1926) entry issues utility, record and RWA tokens for farm-to-fork traceability — crop, batch, origin, quality, cold chain — and certifications, with no trading or investment features. The commodities (S-1924) entry creates record tokens that mirror warehouse receipts and inventory lots for supply chain tracking and reconciliation — reference and workflow tokens. And the medical assets (S-1935) entry tokenises devices and pharmaceutical batches with UDI, lot and expiry, plus the cold chain, for provenance and recall management.

Physical assets of value

The collectibles and luxury (S-1923) entry issues authenticity and ownership-reference NFTs for artworks, collectibles and luxury items — serial numbers, provenance, chain of custody — with no investment or fractional rights. The precious metals and stones (S-1925) entry mints record tokens that reference bullion and gems — serial, assayer, certificate — for provenance and custody, with the warning in writing: the tokens are not claims on the metal or on its value. The machinery (S-1931) entry mints asset passports for serial-numbered equipment — ownership reference, maintenance, warranties, transfer workflows. And the movables and transport (S-1928) entry references registered assets — VIN, IMO, aircraft registration — for maintenance histories, lien annotations and custody trails, with its explicit limit: the tokens are informational, with no legal title transfer on-chain.

Rights, intangibles and environmental records

The music rights (S-1933) entry tokenises licence metadata — ISRC, ISWC, territory, term — for usage tracking and access control, with optional automated payments through licensed PSPs. The intellectual property (S-1927) entry does the same with IP registrations and licensing rights — access control, attribution, usage tracking — with royalty routing likewise via authorised PSPs. And the environmental assets (S-1930) entry publishes project and impact data and retirement attestations on-chain, integrating with the sector’s recognised registries — the tokens are proofs and annotations, not tradable instruments.

The common limit: record yes, investment no

All ten entries repeat the same legal architecture in different words, and it is worth reading it as what it is — the contract of the licence. The token documents: provenance, authenticity, custody, usage, impact. The token is not the asset, grants no economic rights over it, is not fractionalised for investors, is not traded and does not transfer legal title. Payments, where they exist, go through a licensed PSP — never through the platform. Crossing any of those lines turns the record into a security and activates the corresponding regulator; hence the high risk and the entry price. The generic tokenisation platform entry — and the rest of the digital asset map — are in the guides to the blockchain and digital assets company and the Web3 company.

Taxation of the company

The framework is that of any technology company in the Emirates. On VAT, services to local clients are taxed at 5% and supplying clients outside the country can qualify for the 0% rate under the conditions of the regulations — the natural case of the platform that tokenises for the coffee exporter, the record label or the international shipping line. VAT registration is mandatory once you exceed AED 375,000 of annual taxable turnover. On profits, Corporate Tax at 9% above AED 375,000. For a platform with revenue from minting, subscriptions and integrations, the accounting that classifies every flow from the first invoice prevents the problem where it usually starts.

Steps to set up the company

1. Activity and asset class: choose the entry — or entries — that match the assets you will actually tokenise; each class has its own code.
2. Structure: a company in the free zone with the activity added — AED 193,399 additional per entry, to be confirmed with the authority.
3. File: shareholders’ KYC and a description of the model — with high risk, the explanation of why the token is a record and not a security will be the heart of the file, along with the role of the licensed PSP if there are payments.
4. Incorporation and space, from a flexi desk to an office, depending on the team.
5. Visas for the founder and the technical team.
6. VAT and accounting from the start, with the 5%/0% classification defined before the first invoice.

Conclusion

The RWA tokenisation block is the list’s most serious answer to the sector’s most expensive question: how to license the digital registry of real-world assets without opening the door to the investment product. The answer — ten entries by asset class, all non-security, all high risk, all at the same price — draws a demanding but sharp perimeter: document everything, promise nothing, and leave the money to licensed PSPs. For the platform about to tokenise the warehouse, the music catalogue or the fleet, that perimeter is not an obstacle: it is exactly the selling point before its clients — a licensed registry, in a jurisdiction that took it seriously before almost anyone else.