The latest in business laws

The latest in business laws

What businesses in Qatar need to know about the new Commercial registration law – a report

Qatar has a new Commercial Registration (CR) law. Put in force in November 2014, it confers considerable powers on the Ministry of Economy and Commerce.

One of the major highlights of the law is that it ups the fine substantially (up to QR 200,000 or USD 55,000) to be imposed on a company or individual for misusing a CR.

The first thing a business needs to do to set up in Qatar is to register with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce.

In other words, a business, in the form of a company, must seek entry into Qatar's Commercial Register maintained by the ministry. According to the law, existing businesses must renew their CR at regular intervals (now once a year).

The law regulating CR was last amended in 2005. It was known as Law Number 25 of 2005 and was put into force that very year.

Since businesses have literally been mushrooming in Qatar at a rapid pace, requests for registering new businesses have increased manifold, especially since late 2010 after Qatar won the coveted bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Figures released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics for October 2014 show that some 1,071 new CRs were issued in the month and through the e-government Hukoomi gate, another 3,078 new CRs were issued in the same month.

In September 2014 the figure was 1,116 and 4,245 through Hukoomi. For more on this story visit bq magazines website