Qatar Trading Regulation Law (Commercial Law No. 27 of 2006)

المادة 1

The provisions of this law shall apply to traders, and to all business conducted by any person, even if this person is not a trader.

المادة 2

The provisions included in this law or in other laws relating to commercial matters shall apply to commercial matters. Where there is no provision, the trade custom shall apply. The special or local trade custom shall be given priority over public custom. Where there is no trade custom, the provisions of the Civil Law shall apply.

المادة 3

Generally, commercial business is defined as work carried out by a person with a view to speculation even if he is not a trader. Speculation is expecting profit derived from a trading transaction.

المادة 4

The following activities in particular shall be deemed to be commercial businesses: 1. The purchase of commodities and any other movables for sale, whether in their original form or after processing. 2. The purchase of goods and any other movable commodities for the purpose of leasing; or the hiring of 7such goods in order to sub-let them. 3. The sale, lease or sub-letting of purchased goods, or of goods leased according to the aforementioned method. 4. The purchase of property in order to sell it in its original state or after conversion, and the sale of property which is bought for that purpose. 5. The establishment of commercial companies. 6. Contracting businesses.

المادة 5

The following activities shall be deemed to be commercial businesses, if conducted professionally: 1. Banking transactions; 2. Exchange, financial exchange, investment and finance business; 3. Operating business as an agent, broker, stock broker or commercial agent; 4. Supply contracts; 5. Public warehousing business and the mortgage on funds deposited therein; 6. Extraction operations of natural resources including mines, quarries, oil, gas and others; 7. All kinds of Insurance; 8. Business and activity associated with public facilities such as public stadiums, cinematography, hotels, restaurants and auction houses; 9. Business and activity in education facilities and private hospitals; 10. Concessions of utilities, such as water, electricity and gas supply; and postal, telegraph, telephone services.etc; 11. Land, sea and air transport; 12. Maintenance, cleaning and other commercial services; 13. Business agencies, tourism, export and import, and customs clearance businesses, and recruitment agencies. 14. Works related to printing, publishing, journalism, operating radio or television stations and other news media, advertising, and the sale of books. 15. Industry, including that associated with agricultural investment, and subcontracting of establishment and processing business. 16. The building and construction industry, including refurbishment and demolition.

المادة 6

All activities related to shipping and aviation shall be deemed to be commercial businesses, in particular the following: The building, sale, purchase, leasing, hire and repair of ships and aircraft; Lending and borrowing; Work contracts related to the use of a ship's or an aircraft's captain, crew and other employees; Maritime and air transport, and any process related thereto such as the purchase or sale of accessories including supplies, tools, ammunition, fuel, ropes, sails, and aircrafts logistics and supplies; 5. Any kind of maritime and aviation insurance.

المادة 7

Any work related to commercial securities shall be deemed to be a commercial business

المادة 8

Any associated activity comparable to those cited in the preceding Articles in terms of their characteristics and goals shall be deemed to be a commercial business. Any activity related to or facilitating the commercial transactions referred to in the preceding Articles shall be deemed to be a commercial business, as well as all activities carried out by a trader in pursuit of the needs of his business.

المادة 9

Traders' contracts and obligations shall be deemed to be commercial in origin, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

المادة 10

Where the contract is of a commercial nature for one of the parties, the provisions of the present Law relevant to this contract shall apply to the obligations of both parties emanating from such contract, unless there is a specific provision or agreement to the contrary.

المادة 11

The following in particular shall not be deemed to be commercial businesses: The creation and sale of a work of art by the artist himself or by his workers; The publication and sale by an author of his own book; The practice of their professions by self-employed people, such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, and similar professionals; The sale by the farmer of crops produced on land owned or cultivated by him, even if such crops have been processed using available means. If a farmer establishes a permanent shop or factory for the sale of his crops, either in their original form or after processing, such sale shall be deemed to be commercial business.

المادة 12

Whoever carries on a commercial business in his own name, fulfils the due eligibility conditions and is undertaking this work as his occupation, shall be deemed to be a trader. Also, every commercial company or every company taking the commercial form, even if it is engaged in non-commercial activities, is deemed to be a trader.

المادة 13

Whoever in any way publicly advertises the establishment of a shop for trading shall be deemed to be a trader even if he doesn't take trade his occupation.

المادة 14

Whoever has concluded an accidental commercial transaction, but who does not conduct trade as his occupation, shall not be deemed to be a trader. However, his commercial transaction shall be subject to the provisions of this law.

المادة 15

Ministries, other governmental bodies, public authorities and corporations, associations and clubs shall not be deemed traders. However, commercial transactions carried out by such parties shall be subject to the provisions of this law, unless a special exemption is granted to a transaction. Trader capacity shall attach to companies created by the state or to which the state contributes, as well as other public authorities and corporations which are primarily engaged in commercial activity. This same capacity shall attach to branches of foreign public companies and corporations engaged in commercial activity in Qatar.

المادة 16

Individuals whose livelihood basically depends on the performance of small jobs or petty trade shall not be required to comply with the obligations of traders related to commercial books, registration in the commercial register or provisions of bankruptcy and protective reconciliation. The definition of small jobs and petty trade shall be determined by a decision of the competent minister.

المادة 17

Any Qatari, who has attained legal majority, provided that neither he nor the type of commercial transaction he is executing is subject to any legal impediment, shall be eligible to engage in trade

المادة 18

Subject to the legal provisions prescribed to legal jurisdiction over funds belonging to minors, if the minor possesses assets in a business, the competent court may order the liquidation of his assets and withdrawal of the same from the business or may order the continuation of his interest therein. If a court orders the continuation of his interest in the business, it may give to a representative of the minor a general or limited mandate to do all the required work thereto, and such delegation shall be registered in the commercial register. A minor shall be committed only to the extent of his assets used in this business, and he may file for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy shall not include funds not utilized in the business, and there shall be no consequences for the said minor.

المادة 19

Where there is serious reason to suspect the representative of mismanaging the minor's affairs; the court may withdraw the delegation referred to in the preceding Article, without adversely affecting rights of bona fide third parties. The registrar of the court shall, during the twenty-four hours following the issue of the order withdrawing the power of attorney, inform the commercial register so that the cancellation may be registered.

المادة 20

The following persons may not engage in trade: 1st: any trader who has filed for bankruptcy during his first year of trading, unless he has been rehabilitated by the court. 2nd: any trader who has been finally convicted of any of the bankruptcy crimes, by fraud, negligence, any commercial fraud, theft or scam, dishonesty, false accounting, or the use of counterfeit notes, unless he has been rehabilitated. Violation of this ban shall be punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than one year and payment of a fine of not more than fifty thousand (50,000) riyals, or by either of these two penalties, with the commercial premises being shut down in all cases.

المادة 21

Whoever is defined as a trader according to the provisions of the present Law shall maintain the commercial books required by the nature and scale of his business, in such a way as to accurately reflect his financial position.

المادة 22

Traders must keep at least the following records/books: 1. Original daily journal. 2. General ledger. 3. Inventory record. Traders whose capital does not exceed one hundred thousand riyals shall be exempted from such requirement. Registration regulation procedures in the above books or their forms and inspection thereof shall be determined by a decision of the competent minister.

المادة 23

All operations relating to a trader's commercial activities shall be recorded daily in detail in the Original Daily journal. Personal expenses, withdrawals and total statement thereof shall be recorded on a monthly basis.

المادة 24

All transactions recorded in the Original Daily Journal shall be transferred to the General Ledger and organized by account type, cross-referenced to the original daily journal.

المادة 25

Details of the stock held by a trader in the last fiscal year shall be registered in the Inventory Record or total statement thereof if the details are contained in an independent records and lists. In this case, such records and lists shall form an integral part of the abovementioned inventory record. A copy of the trader's general budget for each financial year shall also be included in the inventory, unless this is provided for by another specific record.

المادة 26

Commercial records shall not contain any vacant space, footnotes, erasures or insertions. Before their use, each page shall be numbered and stamped by the commercial register. Traders shall submit these records to the commercial register within two months of the end of each fiscal year for examination and certification. If the pages of these records are completed before the end of the fiscal year, the trader shall submit them, appropriately certified, to the commercial register after the last entry. In the event of cessation of a commercial activity, the trader or his heirs shall submit these records to the commercial register for the cessation to be certified. There shall be no charge for sealing and signing in such submitted cases.

المادة 27

A trader shall keep true copies of all outgoing correspondence, wire/telegraphs sent by him in relation to his business. He shall also keep all the incoming correspondence, telegrams, invoices and other documents received relating to the business. Individuals carrying out petty trade or small jobs, referred to in Article 16 of the present Law, and traders whose capital does not exceed one hundred thousand (100,000) Riyals shall be exempted from such requirement.

المادة 28

The trader or trader's heirs shall keep the Original Daily Journal, the General Ledger and the Inventory Record for a period of ten years from the date of the completion. They shall also keep all correspondence, telegrams, documents, and images mentioned in the preceding Article for a period of five years.

المادة 29

At a lawsuit hearing, the juristic court shall, ex-officio or at the request of one of the plaintiff commits the trader to submit his records and documents, to view the entries on the disputed case, and to extract what it deems appropriate.

المادة 30

Mandatory commercial records shall be an evidence for an owner who is a trader in case of dispute with another trader, if the dispute is associated with a business, and the records submitted were in order according to the above rules. This shall not be required in the opposite case, when evidence may be taken from commercial records of the opponent that are in order.

المادة 31

Mandatory commercial records, either regular or irregular, shall represent evidence against the owner if his opponent based his case thereon, being a trader or not, on condition that the entries in the interest of the record's owner shall represent a proof for him.

المادة 32

Where one party asks to rely on the contents of his opponent's records, and the opponent declines to submit such contents without reasonable excuse, the judge shall adopt the sworn testimony of the applicant

المادة 33

Mandatory regular trading records/books shall be taken as proof on behalf of their owner against his non-trading opponent in connection with debts arising from goods supplied by him to a customer who is not a trader. Such evidence shall drop by the reverse evidence.

المادة 34

Failure to keep the mandatory commercial books referred to in Article 22 of this law or to follow the provisions regarding their organization shall be punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand (1000) Riyals and not more than ten thousand (10000) Riyals

المادة 35

A trader who uses a computer or other technological devices to organize his business operations shall be exempted from the provisions of Articles 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 of the present Law. Information obtained from a computer or other device shall be deemed as a commercial record. General regulations governing the use of such devices shall be determined by the competent minister.

المادة 36

A store shall be both the place where a trader works and the associated rights thereto. The store shall include a set of both tangible and intangible elements, in particular goods, commercial furniture, industrial machinery, communication with customers, business title, the right to rent, trademarks and trade data, patents, licenses, and industrial patterns drawings and designs.

المادة 37

The rights of the business owner in the different elements thereof shall be organized by respective provisions on these elements. Where there is no specific rule, general rules shall be applied.

المادة 38

Trade names, trademarks, industrial drawings and designs patterns, patents and other elements of industrial or intellectual property shall be subject to the relevant laws and decisions thereof.

المادة 39

The store shall not be sold except through an official contract. The sale contract shall specify the value of goods and physical assets, as well as intangible elements, each of which shall be defined separately. First the goods, then the physical assets, then the intangible elements value shall be deducted from the price paid, even if otherwise is agreed upon.

المادة 40

Notification of the sale of the store shall be by its registration in the commercial register. The registration shall be made within one month of the date of sale and shall have priority over subsequent registrations concerning this store. The registration shall ensure the preservation of the Seller franchise for a period of five years from the date of registration. The registration shall be cancelled if it is not renewed during this period. The record shall be erased by the mutual consent of the stakeholders, or if so ordered by the court.

المادة 41

The privilege/franchise of the Seller shall apply only to the parts of the store that are shown in the registry. If what is included in the franchise is not precisely specified, then the franchise shall apply only to the business title, the right to rent and to contact customers, and the goodwill of the business.

المادة 42

The creditors of the Seller, within ten days of the announcement of the sale, shall have the right to sell the shop to a bidder, if they have decided by an increase of their number by 1/10, in the event they have estimated that the sale price is less than the true price. The order to sell shall be issued in this case by the president of the competent court at the request of the creditor who is requesting the sale.

المادة 43

A Seller who files a lawsuit revoking the contract shall inform creditors who have claims on the store at their addresses registered in their claims. Where a Seller sets a condition revoking the contract if the price not paid by the deadline, or if the Seller and Buyer agree to cancel the contract, the Seller shall inform the creditors at their registered addresses of the said revocation or agreement by registered letter with receipt attached.

المادة 44

Where the business is to be sold by public auction, the person calling for this shall notify the previous Sellers at their addresses shown in their bonds/claim by registered letter with attached receipt; informing them that if they do not revoke the contract within one month of the notification, their right of revocation lapses before the public auction.

المادة 45

A civil lawsuit against third parties in respect of revocation of the contract for non-payment of the price shall not be accepted except if clearly so stated in the contract bond, and the lawsuit shall apply only to the elements of the store subject to the sale. Bankruptcy shall not prevent the filing of a revocation lawsuit.

المادة 46

The store may be partially or completely rented, in accordance with the provisions stated in this Subchapter.

المادة 47

The renter shall acquire the capacity of trader and shall be subject to all obligations related to such capacity, inter alia the requirement to register of his name in the trade registry within 30 days of the hire.

المادة 48

The renter must declare the hire contract in the trade registry by the same deadline as stated in the previous Article and shall declare the cessation of the hire in the same way.

المادة 49

The renter must display such capacity as aforementioned in all documents related to his commercial activity such as correspondence, lists, requisitions, and other documents.

المادة 50

Whoever has debt in respect of the store may request the payment of his debts within 90 days of the hire declaration; otherwise his right will be forfeited to the renter by lapse of deadline.