Tool 2 · Shelf-life gate
The last day a batch can land in Dubai.
Two clocks run on every bottle: half the shelf life, and six months before expiry. The batch must clear both on the day it enters. Long-life perfume hits the half-way mark first; a short-life serum hits six months first.
Gate result
- Total shelf life
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- Half-way date
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- Six months before expiry
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- Last day to arrive
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- Days to spare
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Montaji fee count
- Registrations × AED 10
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- Container releases × AED 50
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- Innovation + knowledge fees
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- Total, in dirhams
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Fees from GU18 v3.0 §13: AED 10 per product and variant, AED 50 per container release, plus AED 10 innovation and AED 10 knowledge fees where a payment is above AED 50. Our reading: one registration payment and one payment per container. Laboratory, certificate and importer charges are not included.
How the gate is read
Dubai Municipality’s e-commerce and import guideline says imported consumer products “should have at least 50% remaining of their shelf life and should not be less than six months at the time of entry” (GU18 v3.0 §10-1, 16 Sep 2026). We read “and” as two tests that must both hold, count the half-way point in days from production to expiry, and count six calendar months back from expiry.
Fragrance labels may carry a period after opening instead of an expiry date (GU117 §8.1). The guideline does not say how the entry rule applies then; ask your applicant which date Dubai Municipality will read.
Importing expired or unregistered products is fined AED 1,000 per product (GU18 §15).