Sunday 19 / May / 2024
Muscat: Businesses will now be able to set up operations in Oman faster, and investors will find it easier to support them, following the arrival of the automatic licence approval scheme.
Introduced by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP), the scheme aims to cut the time required for businesses and investors to receive approvals towards contributing their resources to the country.
“Facilitating procedures related to investment in the Sultanate is at the top of the list of businessmen and business owners’ concerns, including small and medium enterprises,” said Qais Mohammed Al Yousef, the Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion. “The launch of the automatic licencing approval service will reduce the cost of investment and will speed up transactions.”
“The service will make a qualitative and real shift in the investment environment in the Sultanate, as automatic licences will be issued for about 88 per cent of the total permitted commercial activities, which will stimulate investment, increase the volume of economic activity, and achieve economic diversification.”
The new service links 10 government institutions that need to provide approval to people looking to start operations in the country. The MOCIIP aside, these include the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Environment Authority, Public Authority of Civil Defence and Ambulance, Ministry of Transportation, Communication and IT, the Telecom Regulatory Authority, Dhofar Municipality, Muscat Municipality, and the Ministry of Interior.
“The automatic licensing approval service comes in order to create a business environment that promotes growth and economic diversification, as well as to support and enable the private sector and enhance the Sultanate’s international indicators regarding ease of doing business,” added Al Yousef.
These services will be linked to the Invest Easy portal, which enables foreign and local investors to cut down the time required for approvals regarding investment and other related procedures. Online portals are available to customers 24x7.
“The Invest Easy portal is a national platform that helps business owners and investors in Oman complete the procedures for registering and issuing licences easily and in a short period, under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, in partnership with many government agencies,” according to Mubarak Al Dohani, the head of the ministry’s Digital Transformation Team.
