Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: With an aim to support companies to correct their legal status, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP), will provide a package of facilities for all legal forms of commercial companies, which are interesting in liquidating their commercial records for a year or merging for a period of 6 months starting on next Tuesday 15th June.
According to the ministry, the liquidation request can be submitted electronically through the “Invest Easy” electronic portal or through Sanad Service Centers to attach the required documents, which include the form of the announcement of the commencement of the liquidation procedures which shall be approved by the liquidator and a copy of the approved company’s partners meeting minutes.
The ministry said: "The new facilitations aim at supporting the concerned companies to correct their legal status, encouraging owners of multiple commercial records to liquidate or merge their businesses, enhancing the government’s efforts to combat the phenomenon of hidden trade, improving the business environment, maintaining the market competitiveness, supporting small and medium enterprises development plans, and facilitating entrepreneurs to cancel old inactive commercial registries through a package of facilities and fees exemptions."
MoCIIP stressed that the hidden trade phenomenon always leads to negative economic and social consequences, such as its contribution to reduce the inefficiency of proposing general and micro economic policies, creating disruption for the labour market and for the Omanisation policies , as well as causing the emergence of an unfair competitive environment that affects the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises .
MoCIIP pointed out that the number of new commercial records during the period of January 1 to June 10, 2021, reached 8447 registries.
MoCIIP clarified: "The new facilities for companies interested in liquidating their commercial registries, include allowing to the company’s liquidator to be one of the partners and authorised signatories or whoever the company deems appropriate, defining only OMR 50 as liquidation fees covering all the required liquidation procedures, and offering an exemption from all government fines resulting from the liquidation of commercial companies."
MoCIIP stated, in accordance with Commercial Companies Law issued by Royal Decree No. 18/2019, the interested company can submit its request for the completion of the liquidation procedures after 6 months from the date of publishing the announcement in the official gazette which is considered as an objection grace period.
The liquidation request must be attached with the liquidator's approval, and the liquidator’s report, which shall be approved by the company’ partners, along with the announcement of the end of the liquidation procedures, with a copy of the approved cancellation of commercial registration by the Ministry of Labour and the Royal Oman Police, in addition to a copy of the tax clearance from the tax authority.
As for the merging procedures for the commercial registries which will be exempted from government fees and fines, the merging request can be submitted electronically through the “Invest Easy” electronic portal or through Sanad Service Centers.
In accordance with the Commercial Companies Law issued by Royal Decree No. 18/2019, the applicant for company’s merging approval, shall wait for 30 days ,which is considered as an objection grace period then the request will be approved.
MoCIIP also pointed out that , among the facilities in transferring the ownership of the commercial registry from one owner to another and the transferring the residency of the expatriate workers to the new registry’s holder or partner, only OMR 200 to be paid per the commercial registry regardless of the number of workers , compared to OMR 316 previously.
