Ministry of Commerce and Industry Services and Regulations
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry provides vital services and rules for all businesses operating in Qatar. The online investment portal is a vital tool for any local and foreign investor, as the MOCI provides procedure requirements, procedure steps, steps for e-services, locations of branches, and cost of services.
Moreover, the MOCI ensures that all businesses operating in Qatar abide by certain regulations when conducting commercial activities in the State. These provisions include making sure that the commercial register and the license are both displayed in a prominent place at the site of the license. This is to avoid any legal violations. This also includes the license number on the sign of the shop to prevent any necessary penalties for violation. These commercial registers and licenses must be duly renewed 30 days before the expiration date, and all the information stated in the register must be periodically updated in cases where there are changes. It is also strictly prohibited to house any worker in the premises of the shop.
Before you sign any lease contract, make sure that you are able to obtain the appropriate approvals for service activities in a residential area. Furthermore, you must ensure that you are able to comply with the organization standards as well as the urban planning standards as stated in the branches of the ministry in your chosen location. The invoices must also be strictly provided to consumers, along with all the necessary detailed information, all in the official language of Arabic. It helps to have an experienced and accredited language service provider not only for translations such as these but also for translations on all official documents and required paperwork for submissions.
You are strictly prohibited from conducting any kind of commercial activity other than the ones that have been permitted in the commercial register and the commercial license. All promotions and discounts must be duly approved from the Market Control and Licensing Department as well.
You may register your company according to the different types indicated below:
- General Partnership Company – formed between two individuals or more, with joint responsibility
- Simple Partnership Company – either jointly and severally liable partners, or sleeping or silent partners
- Sole Proprietorship Company – owned by a single person or entity
- Shareholding Company – the capital here is divided accordingly to tradable shares; shareholders will not be held liable for the debts of the company
- Private Shareholding Company – founding shareholders will be not less than five individuals and the company will not be listed publicly
- Limited Liability Company – the number of partners are not more than fifty and not less than two
- Foreign Company – the non-Qatari stake exceeds 49%
With all of these regulations and all of the requirements from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, it’s important to have a trusted business consultancy partner to help you understand all of the necessary requirements in establishing a business and running it smoothly without a hitch in Qatar.
About Us
Afreno is a Business Consultancy that draws on its long presence, over 10 years in fact, in the field of forming companies, while capitalizing on its impressive know-how at both local and international levels. This endeavor also extends to developing local partnerships and offering excellent opportunities in real estate.
Unlike any other Business Consultancy company in the State of Qatar, Afreno includes under its umbrella three closely-linked comprehensive services: business advice, legal negotiation and real estate possibilities. This means that any project, however complex, can be dealt with in all its aspects. Added to this is our wide range of reliable clients and trusted business contacts, plus our up to the minute awareness of what is going on in the markets, whether GCC or local. Your business venture will be backed by our in-depth knowledge, the valuable connections we have built over time, and our solid reputation, ensuring that you succeed quickly, whatever enterprise you are involved in. All this will be achieved with the minimum of stress; unsurprisingly Afreno has become the point of reference for anyone wishing to incorporate or grow their business in the local market.
