More than 1,000 commercial activities exempted from licence fees

Muscat: More than 1,000 companies have been exempted from the payment of government licence fee, affirmed the SMEs Development Authority.

The SMEs Development Authority said that 1,088 firms have got exemption from licence fee as part of the Oman Vision 2040 pursuant to the Royal Directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik.

The incentives have been offered during 2021 to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the SMEs.

The exemptions cover manufacturing industries, agricultural and fisheries, services and logistics activities, tourism and transport.

The SMEs Development Authority pointed out that selling, assigning and disposal of commercial registration of such establishments while availing the facilities is not permissible, with the exception of cases such as transfer of the commercial registration to a citizen who is fully devoted to management of the establishment and who holds Riyada Card.

The exception does not include fee for renewal of existing government licences.

The steps for completion of the requirements for exemption from licence fee include updating details of Riyada Card for selection of exempted activity, cancellation of the establishment’s commercial registration and issuance of Riyada Card among other requirements.