New tourism fee for restaurants in Oman

Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Tourism has announced that restaurants and cafés that are managed through franchise contracts and located in those places that have been designated tourist areas must now pay a fee to the Ministry, which has been calculated as four per cent of the sales made by that restaurant every quarter.

The fee will be calculated on the basis of the amount spent in these establishments by customers who come there. This new ruling will come into effect as of January 1, 2020.

“According to the Ministerial Resolution No. 56/2019, some provisions of the executive regulations have been amended. Restaurants and cafes will have to pay tourist fees that amount to four per cent of all its sales starting from January 1, 2020. It has to be paid to the ministry on a quarterly basis in accordance with the controls and procedures stipulated in the decision. In case of delay, fines will be imposed in accordance with article 7 of the same decision.”

Details for the classification criteria for restaurants can be found on the website of the Ministry of Tourism.