Government employees have the right to a 100% commercial license

Official sources confirmed to Al-Qabas that the law combating commercial concealment applies to foreigners, as well as to citizens who conduct their commercial activities through licenses issued in the names of their mothers, fathers, wives, other relatives, or even friends, without being actual partners in the licenses. The sources noted that several citizens working in the public sector who have commercial businesses are obtaining commercial licenses in the names of their relatives without being partners, which constitutes a violation of the decree-law on combating commercial concealment, published in the Official Gazette and set to take effect in February next year. The sources emphasized: “A citizen government employee is not prohibited from becoming a partner in traditional local companies, provided that he meets the conditions for obtaining standard commercial licenses, with the requirement that his name be included as an actual beneficiary in the company.” The sources revealed that “a citizen government employee is entitled to obtain a commercial license with 100% ownership in sole proprietorships or single-person companies, provided that he is not the manager of the company, in accordance with the regulations set by the Public Institution for Social Security.” They clarified: “The complete ban applies only to government employees regarding licenses for self-employed activities and individual licenses, given that the nature of these two types of licenses requires the license holder to be the company’s manager.”