Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion announced Tuesday it has cancelled 3,415 commercial registrations, citing reasons that the businesses have ceased their operations or their licenses have expired.
The move to cancel commercial registrations is part of the Ministry’s efforts to regulate the market and ensure that all active commercial registrations represent operational institutions in compliance with existing laws.
Mubarak bin Mohammed Al-Dohani, Director General of Commerce at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion, said that this cancellation represents the first phase of a comprehensive review of companies that have ceased operations or whose licenses have expired, covering the period from 1970 to 1999.
He said that the second phase of reviews will cover companies from 2000 to 2018. Al-Dohani said the cancelled registrations do not include joint-stock companies or individual traders.
He stressed the importance of these measures for market regulation and ensuring the accuracy of data, figures, and statistics related to businesses operating in Oman.
He explained that cancelling these registrations is based on Commercial Register Law No. (3/74). According to Article 15 of the law, if a trader dies, ceases to conduct business, a company is liquidated, or a branch or agency is closed, the registration must be cancelled from the commercial register.
How are licences cancelled?
The law further states that the trader, their heirs, liquidator, or company must submit a request to cancel the registration within one month of the event requiring the cancellation. Additionally, the Registrar of the Commercial Register has the authority to cancel the registration on his own accord.
This Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion initiative aims to maintain an accurate and up-to-date commercial register, reflecting only those businesses that are actively operating and compliant with Omani laws.
The Ministry’s efforts are expected to enhance market transparency and reliability, benefiting the business community and regulatory bodies.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry figures, the number of legal and commercial registrations in all of the Sultanate of Oman governorates saw a significant jump of 97 per cent to reach 450,768 by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Which are the commercial entities?
The Ministry highlighted the approach of investors, companies, and owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to submit their transactions through the digital portal 'Oman Business Platform', which has significantly contributed to the completion of their transactions and the ease and convenience of obtaining various commercial registrations.
The Ministry stated that the legal and commercial registrations included individual traders, limited liability companies, single-person companies, partnerships, closed Omani joint-stock companies, freelance records, street vendors, commercial representation offices, home-based businesses, branches of foreign companies, and non-profit organisation records. These categories registered have increased during the first quarter of the current year compared to the same period of the previous year.
The number of commercial registrations with foreign investors in various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman reached 47,287 by the end of the first quarter of the current year, compared to 2,700 by the end of the first quarter of 2023. The number of automatic licences issued through the digital portal 'Oman Business Platform' or the service delivery offices of 'Sanad' reached 638,795 by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
