OMAN LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Said Al-Shahry, Thamer Al-Shahry, Jeremy Pooley, Maria Mariam Rabeaa Petrou, Shadha Al Kharusi and Salim Al Harthi, Said Al Shahry & Partners (SASLO )
Conducting business through a local commercial agent Any arrangement under which a foreigner con - ducts business through a local commercial agent must be registered with the MOCIIP. Commercial agents must be duly licensed by the MOCIIP. 2.2 Procedure and Sanctions in the Event of Non-Compliance Companies, partnerships, branches and rep - resentative offices must be registered with the MOCIIP. Where the entity being established is owned in whole or part by non-Omanis, the application for registration will need to be pro - cessed through the investment services centre of the MOCIIP. MOCIIP registration is required before any of these types of entities can com - mence operations. Contractual joint ventures (see 3.1 Most Com- mon Forms of Legal Entity ) are the exception to this general rule: although they are treated as legal entities formed under the Commercial Companies Law RD 18/2019 (CCL 2019), they do not require registration with the MOCIIP. How - ever, at least one of the parties to the contractual joint venture will need to have an appropriately licensed presence in Oman. A foreigner undertaking investment activ - ity in Oman other than in compliance with the FCIL may be fined between OMR20,000 and OMR150,000, as may an Omani who partici - pates with a foreigner in an investment project other than in accordance with the FCIL. 2.3 Commitments Required From Foreign Investors The FCIL’s executive regulations were issued in June 2020 and amended further in March 2022. The FCIL’s executive regulations set out the types of investment projects that may apply for
business through a local commercial agent in order to invest in Oman. Establishing a presence in Oman Oman’s Foreign Capital Investment Law RD 50/2019 (FCIL) came into force and effect in January 2020, and its impact has been to relax Oman’s foreign ownership restrictions signifi - cantly. Oman’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) has issued, pursuant to Ministerial Decision 209/2020, as amended, a list of activities subject to foreign ownership restrictions (the restricted activi - ties list). The restricted activities list includes activities such as automotive repair, translation/ interpretation services and labour recruitment offices; it may be updated from time to time by a decision of the Minister of the MOCIIP. Certain industry sectors do not appear on the restricted activities list, despite historically requiring a higher level of local ownership. Oman’s engineering law, for instance, requires engineering consultancy offices to have a mini - mum of 35% local ownership. The MOCIIP is expected to continue to apply any such industry sector restrictions. Even prior to the introduction of the FCIL, for - eigners establishing a presence in Oman’s “free zones” or ”special economic zones” or under the US–Oman free trade agreement or certain reciprocal arrangements implemented within the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), were able to take advantage of less onerous foreign owner - ship restrictions. However, the restricted activi - ties list also applies to non-Omanis establishing a presence under these routes.
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