Opening commercial rep office in Qatar now made hassle free

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has announced procedures and regulations for opening commercial representative offices in Qatar, in line with its efforts to provide an attractive investment environment for various economic and commercial projects.This is pursuant to Ministerial Decision No 396 of 2017 on the regulations and procedures for licensing the opening of commercial representative offices, the MEC has said in a press statement. The decision offers several advantages, including reducing the number of documents required to open a commercial representative office in the country. “The initiative comes within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to develop and improve the business sector through the modernisation of laws and procedures that will enhance the contribution of the private sector to the Qatari economy and provide an attractive investment environment for various economic and commercial projects,” the MEC said yesterday.A representative office is one that represents any company or commercial entity whose main headquarters is based outside Qatar. The MEC, in co-ordination with the Foreign Ministry, is responsible for studying applications submitted by the governments of foreign countries to open such offices in Qatar.The decision stipulates that the competent department at the ministry shall decide on the licensing application and notify the party concerned of its decision within 30 days of its submission in a written memo or by any other means. In case the application is rejected, the decision must be justified. If the deadline passes and the applicant receives no response from the department, the applicant can assume his/her request was rejected. The applicant can appeal to the minister concerned within 30 days of the request being rejected or not receiving a response. The minister shall decide on the appeal within 30 days of its submission. The expiry of this period shall be regarded as an implicit rejection of the appeal, and the minister's decision shall be final.According to the ministerial decision, a licence expires annually and can be renewed once or more than once for a similar period after the required fee has been paid. The renewal application must be submitted accompanied by the documents specified at least 30 days before expiry of the licence. The competent administration may, upon the justified request of the licensee, renew the license after its expiry and within a three-month period after collecting the renewal fee for the entire period from the date of expiry of the licence.Further, the decision states that if the application for licensing or renewing a licence for the opening of a commercial representative office in Qatar is accepted, the office is registered in the Commercial Register or the commercial registration is renewed. In both cases, the applicant must apply for the registration or its renewal in the Commercial Register.Article 7 of Ministerial Decision No 396 of 2017 outlines the duties of a commercial representative office. For instance, the office shall contact customers to introduce the entity’s products and expand the distribution and marketing of these products. It may also contact exporters and sellers of raw and semi-manufactured material needed by the entity to facilitate and speed its delivery to the entity, as well as report complaints it receives about its products to the entity and seek to overcome difficulties in the distribution of such products.On the other hand, the ministerial decision prohibits a commercial representation office from conducting business in Qatar as well as importing and exporting products except for commercial samples of the products produced by the entity it represents for promotion purposes. It also prohibits the office from promoting products other than those produced by the entity it represents.The decision also specifies cases in which the competent authority may revoke the office’s licence and close it: if the office violates the provisions of the law or provisions of this decision, or if the activity of the entity abroad becomes different from the activity approved by the competent department that licensed the opening of the office in Qatar.The party concerned may submit an appeal to the minister within 30 days from the date of being informed of the decision to cancel the licence. The minister shall decide on the complaint within 30 days of its submission. Expiration of this period shall be considered as an implicit rejection of the complaint and the minister’s decision shall be final.The ministerial decision becomes effective a day following its publication in the Official Gazette.