Is It Legal to Charge Money for EV Charging in Dubai? Tariffs, VAT and Licensing for Landlords
Yes, but only through a DEWA-licensed Charge Point Operator, only at the tariff fixed by Cabinet Resolution No. 81 of 2024, and never as a landlord reselling electricity. This article explains what a landlord, owners association or hotel in Dubai may and may not bill for EV charging, how VAT is applied, what the free-charging alternative involves, and how a property is paid when an operator runs the chargers.
Can a landlord buy electricity from DEWA and resell it to drivers?
No. DEWA's EV Charging Infrastructure Regulation is explicit that the sale of electricity is from DEWA to the customer. Under Article 7.3, DEWA subsidiaries and Independent Charge Point Operators act as DEWA's collection agents for the portion of the fee corresponding to DEWA's tariff and fuel surcharge. A licensed operator collects on DEWA's behalf; it does not buy and resell.
Article 7.2 goes further and forbids the use of household chargers or other private charging equipment to provide electricity to the public or to any third party. A landlord who installs a wallbox and bills tenants per kWh, or adds a charging line to the rent, is doing exactly what the Regulation prohibits.
What is the legal price for EV charging in Dubai?
Cabinet Resolution No. 81 of 2024 set unified fees across the UAE of AED 0.70 per kWh for AC charging and AED 1.20 per kWh for DC charging, plus VAT. Article 6.1 of DEWA's Regulation adopts those figures for Dubai and treats them as a floor. Any discount, preferential rate or subscription model that results in a lower fee is forbidden.
Three further rules follow in Article 6.3 and the licence conditions. Operators may not charge periodic or one-off subscription fees for access. They may not charge EV users more for parking or other services than they charge anyone else. And they may not take additional compensation for the charging service in any other way, with the sole exception of a service charge for mobile charging equipment.
How is VAT applied to EV charging?
VAT at 5% is added to the regulated fee, so drivers pay AED 0.735 per kWh for AC and AED 1.26 per kWh for DC. The operator must show the breakdown. Article 6.2 requires invoices to separate DEWA's Red Slab Electricity Tariff and fuel surcharge, collected on DEWA's behalf, from the operator's own charging fee, any overstay charge, any mobile service charge and the VAT.
Licence condition 7.2.e requires every site to be connected under a dedicated DEWA electricity account billed at the EV tariff. This is why a landlord cannot route charging through the building's existing meter and recover the cost through service charges. The metering, the account and the invoice all have to belong to the licensed operator.
Can we offer charging for free instead?
Free charging is legal, but it is not unregulated. The Regulation's definition of private equipment excludes chargers serving employees' or other stakeholders' private vehicles. A hotel charging guests, an office charging staff or a tower charging residents for free is operating Public Charging Equipment and needs DEWA's Free Provision licence or a licensed operator.
The free licence has its own rules. Condition 7.2.a forbids collecting payment for the charging itself, collecting subscription fees, charging EV users more for parking or other services, or taking compensation in any other way. That rules out bundling charging into room rates or a parking tariff. Condition 7.2.c confirms that free provision earns no discount on DEWA's electricity bills or on the annual licence charges.
What may a landlord legally earn, then?
Not money from drivers. Licence condition 7.2.h states that it is expressly prohibited for any person other than the licensee, or its authorised collection agent, to receive remuneration from consumers for EV charging services, and names parking operators and facility owners specifically. The property's income has to come from the operator, not from the people charging.
That is how hosting works. The operator pays the property for the use of its bays and grid capacity, and that payment can be a fixed rent, a revenue share or a blend. Hikari sets the structure in the proposal after a site visit, because it depends on the site. The only price an operator sets freely is an overstay fee, which Article 8.2 permits if it is in the terms and visibly displayed at the charger.
| Action by a landlord or owners association | Permitted? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Bill tenants per kWh from a wallbox on the building meter | No | Regulation Articles 7.1 and 7.2 |
| Add an EV charging line to rent or service charges | No | Licence conditions 7.2.a and 7.2.h |
| Charge EV drivers more for parking than other users | No | Regulation Article 6.3.b |
| Offer free charging to guests or staff without a licence | No | Regulation Article 1 definitions and Article 7.1 |
| Obtain a DEWA CPO licence and operate at the regulated tariff | Yes | Regulation Article 7.1; Paid Provision licence |
| Host a licensed operator and receive rent or a revenue share from it | Yes | DEWA's licensed CPO list: a licence obtained directly or through a listed CPO |
What happens if charging is sold without a licence?
Article 7.1 states that operating public charging infrastructure without a DEWA CPO licence is not permitted, and Article 9 confirms the transitional period ended on 31 March 2025. The DEWA documents we have reviewed do not publish a fine schedule. They do give DEWA the right to inspect licensed sites and require operators to report infringements, and DEWA has publicly urged operators to comply.
For a landlord the practical exposure is simpler. An unlicensed paid charger is non-compliant from the first session, and any tenant, guest or competitor can say so. A licensed operator removes that exposure without any cost to the property.
How Hikari handles this
Hikari Charge L.L.C is a DEWA-licensed Independent Charge Point Operator holding both the Paid Provision and Free Provision forms. Under Model A, our lead offer, Hikari funds, installs, owns and operates the chargers under its licence, bills drivers at the regulated tariff with the required breakdown, acts as DEWA's collection agent and pays the property under the site agreement. The property receives a fixed rent, a revenue share or a blend, set in the proposal after a site visit.
Owners who want to own the hardware use Model B, where Hikari builds and then operates under its licence for a management fee. Hotels and employers who prefer free charging for guests or staff can do so under our free provision form, with the commercial terms set out in the proposal.
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Sources: Cabinet Resolution No. 81 of 2024 on EV charging fees; DEWA EV Charging Infrastructure Regulation for the Emirate of Dubai, Version 1.3 (November 2025); DEWA Independent CPO Form of Licence for Paid Provision and for Free Provision of EV Charging Services, Version 1.2 (June 2025); DEWA Licensed Charge Point Operators (CPOs) in Dubai list (17 June 2026); DEWA Regulatory Framework for EV Charging Infrastructure webpage (last updated 16 June 2026); DEWA news release urging charge point operators to comply with the regulatory framework (March 2025).